Love Hurts
by Lusha
Summary: Sequel to A New York Yankee in Kathryn Janeway's Court. The U.S.S. Voyager stops for a few month's shoreleave a yet another new planet. Allucia makes some friends her age, and continues to train and mature. ST: Voyager/Ranma 1/2/Dragonball/Other Animes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

** C****aptain's Log, Stardate 52788.22:**

** We have entered orbit around the planet Yamato. The inhabitants have graciously invited us for shore leave, and we are extremely grateful for their hospitality. We greatly needed this break as **_**Voyager**_** is desperately low on supplies and materials to make repairs.**

** The planet itself resembles, in our humble relief flight controller's opinion, Japan, at least in her time. The difference being that this civilization is warp-capable, of course. She is squirming in her seat as I speak, so I'd better get shore leave going before she explodes.**

"End log," Kathryn said as she closed her log.

"Hey Captain, I resent that comment..." Allucia tittered from the helm, giggling. Then she squirmed a bit, feeling Kathryn's eyes boring into the back of her skull.

Chakotay spoke up. "You also resemble it," he added, good-naturedly.

"Actually, you aren't humble, you're a loud mouth," Harry added from Ops.

Allucia grinned. "You're all against me... " she muttered, just loud enough for the Bridge crew to hear.

Kathryn cleared her throat. "Alpha Shift is officially over. Those of you who have booked shore leave are free to disembark" she said, her eyes on the ensign at helm.

"Yes ma'am!" Allucia and Harry piped up at the same time, and simultaneously exited the Bridge, saying good-bye as well.

Kathryn put a hand to her head. "ACK! 'Yes ma'am' in surround sound! Oh, me." All Chakotay could do in reply was laugh.

* * *

Harry and Allucia beamed down together, as they were meeting Tom and B'Elanna for dinner and happened to be staying at the same hotel. They materialized in a bustling square, holding their bags. "Our hotel is right over there," Harry said, motioning with his bag to a large white building that was about five stories tall. Allucia nodded and picked both of hers up.

"Here, let me get that for you," Harry volunteered, taking the heavier bag from her. "Geez, why do women always pack so much?" he said, laughing nervously.

"Um, okay." Allucia said, and frowned for a moment. "I like to have lots of choices for outfits. And my makeup."

"Lemme guess. The makeup is in the bag I'm holding."

"Nope it's in my bag." Allucia grinned. "Besides, I don't wear as much makeup as I used to, especially since humanity managed to cure acne since I left the 21st century behind."

"Thank goodness for that," Harry said. In reply, the pilot elbowed Harry hard in the side, making him nearly fall over. "What did I do?" he asked.

Allucia rolled her eyes as they entered the hotel. "Forget it."

The two walked up to the front desk. "Reservations for Harry Kim and Allucia Banks," Harry said.

The attendant behind the desk, a pale skinny teenage boy with dark circles around his eyes, bowed deeply. Allucia caught the attendant leering at her, and more specifically, at her chest. She scowled back to scare him, but he only chortled in response. "Welcome to our town of Nerima. You two have rooms 547 and 548," he said, handing them keycards. "It is on the fifth floor."

"Thank you," Harry said, and both he and Allucia returned the bow.

They took an elevator to the top floor of the hotel, and from there to their respective rooms. Allucia was unpacking when there was a knock at her door. "Come in, Harry."

The ensign entered upon the invitation. "How did you know it was me?"

Allucia sighed. "Only the Captain and the Doc knows this so far, but I'm a full empath now, thanks to the wormhole that brought me here. I have the capabilities of a Betazoid. And then some," she said, cryptically. "I just don't know how to use them yet, so I can really only sense strong emotions."

At this, Harry flushed. "Uh... so you... um... know what I'm thinking?" That made him really uneasy, if Allucia knew why he had come.

The young pilot shook her head. "No, only if I tried to read your mind, which I wouldn't do without your permission. Which I'm not sure I could do anyway." She shook her head. "I'm too busy trying to keep everyone else out of my brain anyway." The operations officer let out a loud, relieved sigh. Allucia did however, notice how worried and nervous he was. "Harry, what is it? Sit down before you pass out."

He took the invitation, and sat down on the end of her bed. "I guess I'll just blurt it out," he sighed.

Allucia raised an eyebrow and upon feeling a twinge of edginess, quickly clamped down on her emotions. "Go ahead," she said, having a feeling she knew what was coming... the operations officer had a reputation for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Harry sighed again. "Well... the past three years you've been on _Voyager_... getting to know you and all, as a good friend... well... Lusha, I've really fallen for you. Like how I used to like Seven." Allucia showed no reaction to his words. Harry silently cursed her T'Lok training. "Please say something," Harry pleaded.

"I honestly don't know what to say," she replied evenly, closing her eyes. "You've taken me totally off-guard. I certainly wasn't expecting this." _My god, you are so fucking predictable._

"Say you'll have dinner with me, just me?" Harry asked, nervousness evident in his voice and a meek smile on his face. "I'm sure Tom and B'Elanna won't mind having some time to themselves."

Allucia took a deep breath, and slowly let it out, resisting the urge to bite her lip. _For being a few years older on me, he's really immature in this department._ She really didn't want to spend the evening with him, she wasn't even attracted to the ensign in the slightest. But at the same time, she did not want to be mean; being rude as she often is was one thing but being mean was another. _I guess one date can't hurt... after that, I'll let him down as easily as I can._

* * *

Tom and B'Elanna were having a midday snack at a sidewalk cafe, glad to have each other to themselves and finally on a _real_ shore leave instead of the holodeck... when B'Elanna suddenly focused on a sight behind Tom, as she and her beau were sitting across the table from each other. "By Kahless..." she said, trailing off as her jaw dropped, as she recognized the Starfleet couple walking towards them. A couple in itself was fine. It was the two people who comprised the couple.

"Bella, what?" B'Elanna nodded to the duo walking down the sidewalk. Tom turned around. "Wow. I didn't think he would actually do it." _It's not like I didn't warn him..._

Allucia and Harry were walking down to the cafe, hand in hand. They were about to walk by the pilot and engineer when B'Elanna called out. "Hey Starfleet!"

Harry jumped slightly, startled, then turned around. Allucia smiled wanly and waved nervously. "Uh, hi Tom, B'Elanna. I'm glad we caught you. Lusha and I won't be joining you for dinner... is that okay?"

"Uh... sure, Harry," answered Tom, glancing between the two ensigns skeptically.

"I have to go to the ladies' room," B'Elanna suddenly said, looking at Allucia.

"Uh, me too," Allucia replied, picking up on B'Elanna's silent request. The women disappeared into the restaurant.

"Girl talk. Figures." Tom merely smirked at Harry. "So, you finally told her?"

"Yeah--caught her totally off-guard."

"And you didn't get decked."

Harry had to grin at that. "At least not yet."

Tom shook his head. "You shouldn't say that. You could jinx yourself." But he knew his warnings were falling on deaf ears. The Ops officer had a penchant for learning things the hard way.

Meanwhile, in the ladies' room, Allucia wanted to tear her hair out. B'Elanna had to physically restrain the ensign from smashing her head into the wall. "Lusha, what is it?" the half-Klingon asked, holding her friend by the forearms.

"'Lanna... I know Harry is our friend and all... but he is driving me up a wall. I can't quite put my finger just what is pissing me off... but he just grates on my nerves as a date." The pilot seemed to relax with this admission, and the engineer relaxed her grip on her. "I like him as a friend... but no more than that."

B'Elanna sighed. "Lusha... you're both my friends... I know you're having a hard time tolerating him, but at least see the day through to its end with him, okay? At least then he'll never be able to say you ditched him."

Allucia smiled, and reached out to hug the other. "Thanks, 'Lanna. I'll do my best."

The engineer put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Not a problem. Now what do you say we get back out there before the men start wondering what's happened to us."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**A**llucia was taking a solitary walk through the marketplace of Nerima about an hour or so after she and Harry had run into their fellow crewmembers. They'd parted ways so that she could shop around for a dress to wear to dinner that night, as she had used up all her replicator rations on _Voyager_. Harry apparently wanted to really impress her and told her to pick out something nice. She wasn't quite comfortable with it, but thinking back on what B'Elanna said Allucia didn't really think she had anything to lose. But then again, her and Harry's definitions of "nice" probably differed.

After finding something she liked, the boutique told her they'd be happy to tailor it to her measurements and that she could come back to pick it up in a little while. She decided to wait in the picnic area of an adjacent park. Allucia settled in the grass with some fruit from a produce stand, sighing happily. It was so nice to eat non-replicated, non-Neelix food once in a while.

Leaning against the trunk of a tree, she took in the nearby botany and the sights. _This planet is beautiful..._ she thought. Then she heard a rustle in the bushes nearby. She whirled in the direction of the sound. "Hello?!"

The bushes parted, and out came a small animal. Allucia gasped. She'd never seen anything like it before. But it was cute, not to mention adorable. It was gray and looked like some type of rabbit with oversized ears, that is, until it meowed.

Allucia's eyes widened. It meowed again. It bounded up to her and into her lap, and started purring and nuzzling at the fruit in her hand. "You hungry?" As if in understanding, the creature nodded. "It's all yours..."

_"Miyah!"_ went the creature as it pounced upon the morsel Allucia let in her lap. It devoured it in one bite. She scarcely had time to get her hand out of the way. "Hungry, ain't ya?" she chuckled. She took another piece of fruit out, and that was quickly finished off as well. Allucia warily reached out towards the animal, and pet it, glad that it had let her.

_ "Ryo-ohki! Where are you!?"_ came a rather loud and slightly disharmonious voice. Allucia raised an eyebrow and looked around, not being able to place where the sound originated. A figure suddenly coalesced into existence in front of her with scarcely a sound, floating in mid-air. The other eyebrow raised. "Oh, thaaaanks!" she said, her feet touching the ground gently. "You found my cabbit."

"Is that what she's called?" the ensign asked, trying to ignore the fact that this person seemed to be flying without any help. _That's some pretty slick transporter technology..._

The girl, who appeared to be about Allucia's age, nodded. She had long, spiky, ice blue hair. Her hair didn't phase the human... after all, her own hair had been purple when she was younger. "Yes--you're one of those off-worlders here for vacation, aren't you?" she asked. Allucia nodded. "I'm Ryoko," the girl said.

"I'm Allucia--but everyone calls me Lusha."

"Welcome to Yamato."

"Thanks. So... Ryo-ohki, that's a cabbit?"

Ryoko grinned, and tossed Ryo-ohki up into the air once. "They're these cute little bio-mechanical animals who win over the hearts of people everywhere and eat more than a training martial artist. And they can also turn into a space ship. Watch." With that, she picked up Ryo-ohki and hurled her high in the air, the poor cabbit howling at the offense. She tumbled end over end in the air, turning into a spiky looking spaceship, like some of the ones _Voyager_ had seen in orbit, and proceeded to meow, though much louder with a slightly metallic tone that echoed through out the town.

Allucia could scarcely believe her eyes. "You mean, those ships in orbit--are all cabbits?!"

Ryoko nodded. "Probably a good half of them...then there's the Galaxy Police and the Jurai Royal Family's--oh _shoot!_ Ryoko cut off as she looked at the jeweled bracelet on her wrist. "I have to go now--nice meeting you Lusha!" Allucia didn't even have time to wave back, as Ryoko had disappeared right before her eyes as quickly as she had appeared. Sighing, she got to her feet and continued her walk through the park.

The next thing she came upon was a martial arts demonstration. Allucia, being a fledging martial artist, was immediately interested. In the ring, she was surprised to find two more people who looked to be her age sparring. One of them was a girl with short blue-black hair, wearing a white sleeveless summer dress. The boy with whom she faced off against was wearing black pants bound on the bottom with a cord, a torn yellow tank top and a yellow bandanna with black geometric designs on it. His black hair fell over the cloth, nearly in his eyes.

After watching the two trade a few blows, Allucia realized it wasn't a demonstration... the two were actually fighting! And judging by the bored expressions of the crowd, it was nothing new. Intrigued, she moved in closer and took a seat near the front, further realizing that the girl was doing the attacking, while the boy was doing nothing to defend himself.

"Ryoga!" the girl was shrieking, "Leave me alone! How could you _do_ this to me?! All those nights you spent in my room--as P-chan! _Ryoga no __**hentai**__!"_ It was plain that Ryoga, the boy, wasn't listening. "You'll never beat me! No wonder Ranma bullied you all the time! I! Should! Have! Let! Him!" Each of the last few words was punctuated with a blow.

"I love you Ak--" he began, as the girl's foot connected with his chin and he went sailing backwards. He quickly got up again. "Akane-san!" he cried, leaping for her again. This time Akane's fist connected with his nose, and he went flying backwards yet again. As Ryoga sailed through the air, he couldn't help but think about how badly things had gotten in the past few days, after his return. After Ranma and Akane's failed wedding, Ryoga had confessed two things to Akane: his curse, and his feelings for her. Well, after his four-month training trip, of course. He'd gotten more lost than usual, this time. In any case, Ryoga hadn't expected her to become so infuriated. It had taken him twenty minutes for him to stutter it out... he thought she would appreciate his honesty.

Allucia was so involved in studying Akane's moves, and everything happened so fast, she didn't see Ryoga flying at her until it was too late. She couldn't move quite in time, and Ryoga landed on top of her. "Hey!" she cried, pushing the martial artist off of her. "What's the big idea?!" Not that she would normally mind being in close contact with such a cute boy, but Allucia was more embarrassed by being caught off-guard when she had been trained otherwise.

Ryoga blushed. "I am--" he broke off as his face met Allucia's, "sorry...?" His vision a bit blurry from all the blows his thick skull was taking, the girl standing before him could have been Akane's twin--she had the same style of short hair. He became entranced, gazing at her, realizing her eyes were an incredible shade of cerulean blue.

Allucia wasn't looking at Ryoga. She hefted herself off the ground and brushed herself off, her eyes on the other girl. "It's okay." Then she got an idea. "Hey Akane!" she called.

"Yes, who are you?" Akane replied, a vein starting to bulge in her forehead.

"My name is Allucia--I'm an offworlder. Whaddaya say you stop picking on the boy here, and on someone your own size?" After all, she could defeat everyone in her T'Lok class. Maybe she could pick up a few moves. She heard the crowd start buzzing with conversation, but didn't pay attention to any of it.

"You're not another fiancée, are you?" Akane asked, looking at her challenger, whose looks closely resembled her own, same short hair, same figure--save for the fact she had an oddly unnatural hue of blue eyes. "Because if you are..." Her battle aura suddenly burst to life.

"Fiancée? What the hell are you talking about, girl? I ain't got no fiancé. I was gonna fight for the poor weak male you were pummeling," Allucia replied, unconsciously lapsing into her Brooklyn accent as she saw Akane suddenly started glowing.

"Weak male, hmmm? Okay... wanna spar then?" Akane grinned, letting her aura ebb away. A chance to fight another girl who wasn't a threat. She'd deal with Ryoga later... she could already see him wandering out of the clearing. She suddenly wondered if she'd been too hard on him.

Allucia facefaulted, then nodded. If she wanted to spar instead of fight, that was fine. As she was wearing her uniform, she removed the outer shirt and turtle neck so that she was only wearing the tank top. Just before she entered the ring, Allucia closed her eyes and stood perfectly still for a few moments. This T'Lok technique was meant to clear her mind of emotion and chaos, like relaxation techniques and katas in other martial arts. When she opened her eyes, her face was clear of any emotion whatsoever. She didn't even hear people start placing bets with each other within the crowd.

Akane and Allucia slowly began circling each other, each waiting for the other to strike. But suddenly, Akane opened the fight with a fast high kick, aimed at Allucia's upper torso. Allucia deftly ducked into a crouch, and tried to sweep Akane's feet out from under her. She wasn't fast enough to succeed, though; before she could move away, Akane had somersaulted over her and kicked her in the small of the back. Allucia went sprawling face down on the grass. This Akane chick was better than she expected. Feeling even more embarrassed (especially as she landed awkwardly on her ankle and felt a sharp pain), the human rolled onto her back and held her hands up. "Okay! I give! You are _way_ better than me!"

The other girl suddenly facefaulted and after another moment, she dropped her offensive position and blinked twice. Then she giggled, and helped Allucia to sit up. "I'm so sorry... I didn't realize I kicked you that hard."

"You didn't... I just didn't fall right... ouch." Though Allucia wasn't sure what hurt more, her ankle or her pride. She decided to give both a few moments to recover before attempting to stand. The crowd began to dissipate, arguing over winnings and the bets they'd placed on the fight.

Having noticed the sparring from a distance, Harry was just walking up as his crewmate fell flat on her face. Grimacing, he rushed over and knelt at her side, while Akane knelt in front of her.

Allucia grinned broadly at both of them. "It's okay. It was a good fight. Obviously, I haven't had as much practice as you. I've only been working on my disciplines for a year."

Akane's eyes widened. "You're pretty good, for only being a year into training... I've been training since I was four years old."

"Four?! I can't even remember being four..." Allucia said, trailing off, distant. Then what the rest of Akane said registered. "Pretty good? You felled me with your second kick!"

The other girl grinned. "Most people can't get past the first."

Now it was Allucia's turn to be surprised. She really hadn't known what she was getting herself into. She suddenly decided to start attending T'Lok class seven days a week instead of five.

"I bet you were still dangerous when you were four,"Harry put in.

"Depends on your point of view. For example, I was considered very dangerous by my big brother and any computer in a sixty-mile radius."

"Akane!" called a voice.

Akane stiffened, and turned towards the voice. "Hello, Ranma." Standing a little taller than Akane, Ranma was tall and lanky. He wore a red shirt and black trousers, and his unruly black hair was plaited into a short pigtail. "Ranma, this is Allucia, and..."

"Harry Kim." Harry put in for himself.

Ranma looked at Akane, then to Allucia, then to Akane again. "You two were fighting, weren't you?" he scolded Akane. Both Akane and Allucia blushed.

"Well, I challenged her. Unfortunately, I didn't know what I was in for," Allucia said.

Ranma shook his head. "I'll never understand girls," he said, not noticing Akane rolling her eyes at the comment.

"Neither will I," agreed Harry.

"Well, me an' Akane hafta go home now--Kasumi sent me, Akane, it's almost time for dinner. Nice meeting you two," Ranma said. He and Akane waved and walked off.

Once out of earshot, Ranma must have said something to upset Akane, threw his head back and laughed, and the pair saw --was that a mallet?!-- come out of nowhere to smash Ranma on the head, while she screamed _"Ranma no baka!" _ The universal translator didn't translate it.

Allucia and Harry blinked several times at the retreating couple. Harry shook his head again, to break himself out of his semi-shocked state. "We should get you to Sickbay, and have the Doc patch you up for the umpteenth time." He went to tap his combadge.

The female ensign grabbed his hand. "Harry, no. I have a first aid kit in my room. I can fix myself up at the hotel."

Harry shook his head. "Figures. Okay, if you say so."

Allucia went to stand and toppled back down. _"Ow!_ Stupid ankle..."

"Here, let me help," offered Harry. Allucia nodded. She put an arm over his shoulder while he put his arm under hers, and gently eased her to her feet. Allucia stood a tad shakily on one foot. "Ready to walk?" She nodded again. They started out gingerly, but her ankle gave way beneath her.

"Damn!" she cried, biting her already swollen lip. _That hurt..._

Harry sighed. "Okay. But I'm carrying you back to the hotel."

Allucia cringed inwardly. "Ummmm... okay."

Harry gently lifted Allucia up. She was heavier than he thought she would be. He staggered a little under the sudden weight but balanced himself. He shifted Allucia in his arms more comfortably. Noticing Harry blush, Allucia had to force herself not to roll her eyes.

"Um, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to pick up my dress for tonight."

"Um... okay." Allucia directed Harry back to the boutique she had been in earlier.

* * *

An hour later, Allucia, swathed in a towel, was tearing through what little luggage she had, and cursing up a storm. She did not go unheard, of course, and there was a gentle rap at her door.

_"What?!"_ Allucia screamed. She was so pissed off that she couldn't clear her mind enough to probe the mind of whomever was at the door. Though it was probably the dorky ensign anyway. Good thing his looks made up for it, otherwise she probably wouldn't even tolerate him for this one date.

The door opened a crack, and Harry stuck his head in, dressed for dinner. "What's..." he began, then turned bright red and swallowed as he realized Allucia was only wearing a towel, among other things. "...wrong?" he finished, an octave higher than he meant to.

Seeing Harry turn bright red, Allucia realized she was still in her towel, among other things, and dashed behind a changing screen, embarrassed herself. "I, um, can't find any of my bras." A slender arm came out behind the changing screen, pointing towards the bureau. "Can you grab me that package please? Then just chuck it over here."

Entering the room, Harry did as he was asked, and threw the package. It bounced off the wall above the screen, and Allucia caught it and changed. However, as he was throwing the package, a lacy article of clothing fell softly to the floor. The only bra she had left. From the ten or so she had brought down to the planet originally...

A few minutes later, Allucia appeared from behind the screen.

"Wow," Harry whispered, his eyes widening, and staring a bit. Allucia was wearing a black silken gown. It was sleeveless with a high neck, and left her tattoo visible. The dress ended just above her knees and was slit halfway up her thigh on each side. She also wore knee high black boots with flat soles with it, which he found a bit odd, but assumed it was probably popular where she originally came from. Her short hair was plain except for one ribbon she wore as a headband, with the bow tied at the bottom. She also had all eleven earrings in her ears and a hoop in her nose. Swallowing hard, he extended his arm.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, the ensign linked her arm with his. She had to admit he did look handsome. He was dressed in a very simple but very nice blue and black suit; it reminded Allucia of this vintage designer called Armani she had once done research on before leaving her Earth.

Allucia and Harry left the room, not hearing the murmur of "Sweeeeeeto..." as a pair of slitted eyes glowed from underneath Allucia's bed. Then a small, plump, shadow dashed from the room, a large sack on his back.

* * *

Elsewhere, Ryoga was still sitting in the park, and it was well after sunset, thinking about the short exchange that had happened between him and the beautiful alien...

_ "Hey!" she had cried, pushing him off of her._

_ "I am... sorry..." he had said in apology._

_ "It's okay." The fire in her eyes as she looked at Akane was intoxicating._

Ryoga sighed. To him, she was beautiful. Akane paled in comparison. But then again, she reminded him so much of Akane... He couldn't even remember the strange girl's name. He had walked off in a daze, partly due to a few of Akane's hits. By the time he had returned to the scene of the fight (hours later, of course), it was over and everyone gone--including the nameless beauty.

The martial artist sighed in resignation, adjusted his pack, and began walking.

* * *

After dinner, Allucia and Harry had ended back up in the park, walking side by side. There was a full moon and a half, casting a serene light over everything. They were having some trouble keeping a conversation going.

"So... Harry... what kind of music do you like?"

Harry brightened. "Mozart, Beethoven, T'Paral, mostly classical. What about you?"

If it weren't for her disciplines, Allucia would have laughed out loud. But she kept a straight face. While she had nothing against classical music, she found it funny that it was the _only_ thing the ensign liked. "I like a lot of music... some of which probably doesn't exist anymore, like heavy metal, industrial, and electronica; but I also like the music from Broadway shows."

Harry nodded. _What the hell is heavy metal and electronica? Sounds like something used in shuttle repair._ Which, incidentally, they did a lot on _Voyager_. "So... Lusha... that tattoo... where did you get it? I mean, you don't seem the type of person who would get a tattoo. Looks very interesting, with an evening dress."

Allucia looked at her right arm, then her attire, and raised an eyebrow. "Don't be so sure. I got it when I lived in Brooklyn. It was to join a... a type of... sisterhood. We always looked out for each other." Then Allucia fell silent, obviously deep in thought. Harry noticed this and tried to think of something else to keep their conversation going.

"Lusha... what's wrong?"

She sighed. "I don't know... just thinking."

"About what?"

Allucia suddenly stopped walking and turned to look Harry straight in the eye, and Harry knew she was going to be blunt and steeled himself for it. "Harry, why tha sudden change of heart, coming out like that and saying you have somethin' for me?" she began, her accent suddenly thick. If he noticed it, he gave no sign. "I mean one day youz don't like me, the next you do? I know we're good friends and all, but I'm so confused!" _Not to mention you're learning to cover up your feelings so I can't read them. Don't even trust me..._ Allucia sighed. _As if I've given him any reason to._

Harry stared at her quietly for a moment, looked away momentarily, then back to the young woman. "To be truthful, I don't know. I... well... as stupid as it may sound, I just woke up one morning and realized it. I started thinking less and less of Seven and more and more of you." Harry looked right into Allucia's eyes.

She held his gaze, but her expression was unreadable; Harry wasn't sure if she was going to kill him or kiss him. So, wanting to be safe rather than sorry, he took action; he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply before she had a chance to react. Allucia kept her eyes open, still on the defensive.

"Well," Allucia whispered breathlessly after they had separated, "I guess that assuages any doubts I had..." _You just want to get laid. Asshole._

"I'm glad it did," Harry replied quietly, his dark eyes shining.

_ You just don't get it._ Regardless, Allucia smiled mirthlessly back; held Harry's gaze for a moment, and turned away. The two started walking again, and Allucia's eyes glazing over slightly, as she retreated into herself, a few steps ahead of the operations officer.

Harry came up behind her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything wrong? Was it something I said?"

Allucia closed her eyes. "No. Nothing you said. Just... I don't know..." She opened her eyes and looked back to Harry. "Let's go back to the hotel and get some sleep. I want to get a whole day of vacation in tomorrow."

Harry nodded and took Allucia's hand. "As you wish, madame."

Allucia forced herself to smile, and the couple continued their walk. Unknown to them, there were three people watching.

From across the park, a half-Klingon smirked. She had seen the two kiss, and but wasn't sure what to think. "How long do you give it before he makes her angry?" she said, leaning on his chest. She and the pilot were spread out on a blanket watching the stars.

"With her temper and his luck with women? I'm shocked it hasn't happened already." He was rewarded with a slightly indignant elbow to him stomach. "Sorry" Tom said, "but I'm still worried." He'd noticed that she hadn't closed her eyes as well as the awkwardness after.

"Why? That one of them will hurt the other somehow?" B'Elanna asked.

Tom nodded solemnly. "She tries so hard to keep her temper under control that she won't show it when she gets mad. But then she holds it in so much that eventually it won't take much for her to lose it once her patience runs out." Both ensigns were like family to him, and he knew them both well enough to know it wasn't going to take long for someone to get hurt. Which was precisely why the elder pilot had tried to warn Harry ahead of time, since he had a sinking feeling Harry was going to be the one to get hurt.

The other figure was sitting in a tree above Allucia and Harry. Ryoga was very upset to see the scene unfolding before him, though he did notice that she had not been returning the other's affections. Hopefully there was still time. He quietly leaped down from the tree and out of the park, unnoticed by all. He wouldn't mess up like he did with Akane.

* * *

Seventeen minutes later, Ryoga quietly scaled the balconies on the side of the hotel, heading up to the fifth floor. Before he knew it, he had reached his destination.

_ Her_ balcony. Well, unless he had gotten lost. There was a very good chance of that happening... it took him over fifteen minutes to get across the street, after all. And it was easy to find out which room was hers; all he had to do was bribe Happosai with a pair of underwear (he'd caught the old lecher leaving the hotel with a sack on his back), which he had purchased from Nabiki, one of Akane's older sisters... and now he owed her a favor. Two, actually. The second was for Nabiki's promise not to tell anyone about the underwear he purchased from her. Ever. Especially with the clothes pin he still had on his nose, pinching it shut.

The sliding door was open; the sheer curtains were billowing in the night breeze. The room was empty, so he deposited his gifts. Then heard a noise as the door was opening.

Allucia entered her room, Harry trailing. She was giggling while he was planting kisses down her neck.

Ryoga immediately scrambled for the balcony, quietly enough that the other two didn't hear a thing, removing the wooden pin from his now-sore nose as he did so. Besides, they were a bit too engrossed in each other. Ryoga flattened himself against the wall outside the balcony; he could still hear them. Then he realized he had found her room on the first try! This thought, however, was overridden by an increasing pressure building in his nose. He grabbed a bandanna off of his head and shoved it underneath his nose just to be safe.

"Harry... c'mon... stop... I ain't that kind of girl..." Allucia was saying between giggles. "It's bad enough that you hadda show me that... that... 'shortcut' back to the hotel!" She got no verbal response and she mentally chastised herself for letting her hormones get the best of her; after all, she _was_ a teenager, even if she couldn't stand the guy she was with. Her eyes fell upon the beautiful flowers and box of chocolates that had been set on a bureau. She didn't know where they came from, but if she could use it as an excuse to distract Harry she'd be able to get out of letting her hormones persuade her to do something she didn't really mean to lead the other ensign into believing she wanted to do in the first place.

She drove her elbow backwards into Harry's stomach. _"Ow! _ What did you do that for?"

Allucia pointed to the flowers. "Are those... ose... ahhh... ahhh... . _ahh-choo!"_ Allucia delved into a semi-feigned sneezing fit. "Are the... _ah-choo! _...Flowers... ahh... _ah-choo!_ ... From you?" she asked, between sneezes. She darted into the bathroom.

Harry followed her into the bathroom. "Of course not. I know how bad your allergies are." He was answered by more sneezing. Allucia said something Ryoga couldn't understand; and a moment later Harry left the room, taking the flowers with him.

Ryoga bonked himself in the head. She had allergies. And severe ones at that.

"Hey Harry?" Allucia called.

"Yes?" he replied, poking his head back in the doorway.

"Give the flowers to Tom so he can give them to 'Lanna. Don't wanna see nice flowers go to waste."

"No problem. See you in the morning, Lusha." Harry was answered with a growl, as Allucia exited the bathroom, pretending to search for her medkit. Once the door closed behind him, she locked it and cursed a blue streak. "Stupid jerk! Can't even take a clue!"

He heard cloth rustling a moment later, and couldn't help but think of what she could be doing, and removed another one of his bandannas and placed it under his nose with the first one.

"Chocolates, huh?" Ryoga heard her wonder. "Not very subtle, is he. Must have had room service bring them up... well... he can keep his chocolates! Stupid Harry!"

A moment later the candy came flying out the balcony door and flew over the railing. Ryoga's eyes widened as he heard them hit the ground a moment later, and he made a swift exit. Perhaps this was the wrong way to approach a girl...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**A**llucia woke the next morning, groggy from tossing and turning all night. She staggered into the bathroom, and took a shower. Upon exiting the bathroom, she got dressed, and fell back asleep on the bed until she heard a knock at her door. She cursed inwardly. She'd gotten so distracted by her sinuses distracting Harry the night before she forgot to tell dumb ensign she didn't want to see him again. Well, it was too late now...she supposed she had to tolerate him for one more day.

"Come in, Harry."

Harry entered. "Use your 'powers' again?"

Allucia frowned. "No...you're just entirely too punctual."

Harry shrugged, trying to shake off the images of Allucia sprawled on the bed in other outfits than the modest baggy blue jeans and a tight cranberry tank top. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, but that medication really knocks me out."

"I know a lovely young woman who does the same thing to me."

Allucia rolled her eyes at the comment, and lazily proffered a pale skinny hand in a request to be helped up. Harry granted the request, and watched as a dazed pilot made her way to a vanity and brushed what little hair she had.

"So what's our game plan today?" she asked, putting on earring number seven.

"We're going to visit some ancient springs. Legend is, they're enchanted, and have special powers."

"Ooooo, enchanted." Allucia giggled.

"Also a martial arts training ground."

That got the relief-pilot's attention. "Well let's go!" she said, grabbing Harry's wrist and half-dragging him out of the room.

* * *

An hour later, the two entered the springs. The tricorder Harry brought with them translated the sign as reading, "Jusenkyo Enchanted Springs Training Center."

"It's so peaceful here," Allucia commented, "and beautiful. I'm surprised there aren't more tourists here."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe we beat the crowd."

"Well you did drag me out of bed at only ten in the morning."

_ "Only_ ten? And you were ready when I came to get you."

"I need my beauty sleep."

Harry scrutinized Allucia's face. "I don't think it's working." He got a fist in the stomach for his trouble, and doubled over. "Owwww...why did you do that? I was just joking!" Allucia merely stuck her tongue out at Harry, then her attention focused at something behind him.

"What's that?" she said, then walked off into the trees. Harry decided not follow her, as looking at some of the other signs was safer than standing next to her.

In a grove of trees was a beautiful spring. The sign for it was so degraded that the writing, even if she could understand the language, was illegible. "I wonder why it's separated from the others..." Allucia commented to herself.

The ensign was so caught up in the serene beauty of the place, she wasn't watching where she was walking, until she tripped over a root.

She fell right into the spring, promptly disappearing beneath its glassy surface.

* * *

Harry made another comment on how quiet the springs were; when he didn't get a reply, he turned around and found Allucia was gone. To where, he didn't know, until she appeared out of the trees wearing soggy clothes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Well, I tripped, and fell into the spring, and...well, you wouldn't believe the rest."

Harry crossed his arms. "Try me."

"Let's get out of here first!"

* * *

Some time later, Harry and Allucia were walking down the street back towards the hotel. The day had gone from sunny to overcast; it looked as though it would rain at any moment.

"And then, I meet this big guy in a green uniform, with the most adorable accent. He seemed to know what happened. He poured hot water on me, handed me my clothes, pinched his nose, and left...it was really weird. I turned back, and here I am."

"I knew you were a good actress, but how could you keep a straight face telling a story like that? Oh, that's a good one, Lusha..." he said, laughing as he did so.

Allucia punched Harry in the arm, who was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed, laughing.. "I am _not_ lying!" As she said this, thunder boomed above them, and it began to rain.

"REEEOOOWWWRRR!" screeched something.

Harry finally opened his eyes, and dropped his jaw nearly to the floor. Where the young pilot had been standing moments earlier, now stood a curious looking creature, that was meowing with a vengeance, standing in a pile of Allucia's clothes. It had black fur and a purple jewel centered in its forehead, and a lighter area of fur on one arm that matched the tattoo Allucia had. It took him a moment to realize that she _had_ been telling the truth about being turned into what she'd called a 'cabbit'.

"Lusha?" Harry asked the cabbit, experimentally.

_"Miyah!"_ went the cabbit. "Rowrr..."

Harry sighed, and picked the cabbit up. "This is interesting." The cabbit hissed back, then squirmed into his arms. Harry moved her to a more comfortable position. "Why is it, when I finally get you in my arms, you're shedding on me?" he couldn't resist joking. _"Ow!"_ Allucia-cabbit scratched him for that one.

* * *

_This following section written by guest author Kathy Knick. Reposted and edited with permission. _

Tom and B'Elanna watched as a very wet Harry walked quietly underneath the cafe's balcony and made his way towards their table with a very sullen expression on his face. He was cradling something small in his arms, but Allucia was no where to be seen.

"Do you think she finally dumped him?" Tom whispered to B'Elanna, who nudged him none too gently in the side.

As Harry reached the table they saw something small and furry that resembled a rabbit in his arms. He sat down heavily and the creature meowed a slight protest to the sudden jar.

"Harry," B'Elanna asked gently, "Where's Lusha?"

Harry sighed and looked down at the animal he was holding; it appeared as depressed as he, "She's right here," he muttered.

B'Elanna blinked, "Huh?" was all she could manage to say.

Harry grabbed the creature just below its forelegs and held it out above the table. It growled at being handled so roughly, "This," he began, faltered, then began again, "this is Lusha."

Tom was unable to contain himself and laughed hysterically, "Oh, come on Harry. You can tell us. She dumped you and you're taking it pretty hard," he looked at the creature again and frowned. _"Really_ hard. You can't possibly expect us to..."

"It _is_ Lusha!" Harry said, visibly angry. The creature hissed in unison with his words.

The group fell silent for a moment, unsure what to say. Allucia squirmed slightly in Harry's grip, then suddenly let out a loud belch.

"Well, it certainly _sounds_ like Lush," Tom said as he sat back and crossed his arms. He blinked in surprise at the animal Harry was still holding over the table. _Did it just stick its tongue out at me? _he thought in shock.

"H-How?" B'Elanna stammered.

"I'm not quite sure," Harry sighed, finally setting Allucia down on the table, "We were walking through the streets as she was attempting to tell me what happened (I didn't believe her), when it began to rain. Next thing I knew, Lusha was gone and this was standing in her place."

Tom reached out a hand and started to scratch the animal's chin, "I dunno Harry, I think this is too cute to be--_oww!"_ He snatched his hand back as it bit him firmly on the finger. "Why you little..." Tom began as B'Elanna burst out laughing. He looked from the cabbit, to his finger, then back at the cabbit again, "Okay Harry, you've got me convinced. But just for that," Tom said, mock reprovingly, waggling a finger at the small animal, "No chocolate chip cookies for a week!"

"Come on," Harry said, picking up a pitifully meowing Allucia-cabbit, "We've got to take her back to _Voyager_, and see if the Doc can do anything for her."

"Does this mean we have to paper train her now?" Tom asked as Harry contacted the ship.

_"Miyah!"_ Allucia cried angrily as the transporter beams dematerialized them.

* * *

The three humanoids and one cabbit who was normally resembling something human materialized in Sickbay. The Doc was there, about ready to leave for his own shore leave. He wasn't happy to see he had a patient. Harry explained what happened (to his knowledge) to Allucia.

"Hmmmm...this is intriguing..." The Doctor had the Allucia-cabbit on the diagnostic bed. Impatient, the cabbit came out from under the small arch, meowing.

The hologram roughly shoved her back underneath the scanner. "Miss Banks, if you do not remain still, how do you expect--_hey!" _ The Doc removed his hand, and Allucia-cabbit was hanging from his finger, biting him. "Fortunately, I have no subroutines that would have me experience pain. Now, please disengage yourself from my finger."

Allucia held on for a moment longer thinking of ways she could arrange for him to feel pain, then dropped back down to the biobed, growling as she ducked back down under the arch. A few minutes later, the Doc finished his scans.

Meanwhile, Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry were just observing the Doc. Well, Tom was getting on the Doctor's holographic nerves by continually putting his two cents in about the readings.

"Well, Doc? What's wrong with Lusha?" Harry asked.

The Doctor turned to face Harry. "Physically, she's fine." He pointed to a display with a few strands of DNA on it. "I don't know what the locals call this species, but to provide you with a frame a reference, it's pretty close to a combination between a cat and a rabbit. I'm reading her human DNA as recessive. I suspect I will find the other species' genes recessive if I scan her as a human...assuming we figure out if there is a way to return her to her normal form." He stopped a moment to stroke his chin. "It's fascinating. Her DNA now is densely coded as well, as if it were engineered. Also, notice on the right foreleg is an area of slightly lighter fur that matches the tattoo on Miss Banks' human right arm. Tell me, do you know what happened Mr. Kim?"

"Actually, I do. We went to visit these enchanted springs. When we left, she told me how she had turned into this cat-rabbit thing. I didn't believe her at first, of course. Then, it began to rain, and the next thing I know...Lusha's an animal."

Allucia-cabbit tapped one of her hind legs impatiently, then scratched an ear with it. They were treating her like an animal and referring to her in the third person. She may be acting like a cabbit, and having unnatural cravings for carrots and shiny things...but she still had her own mind.

"Hmmmm...do you know how to turn it back? Reverse the transformation, that is."

_**It? He called me an it?! **_The cabbit hissed at the hologram, who held his hands up in apology. "Very well. Miss Banks. Do you know how to turn _her_ back?"

"Miyah." Allucia said, thanking him.

Harry snickered. "She said some guy almost cooked her, but there was something else, I can't remember..."

_ That does it,_ the cabbit thought. She jumped from the biobed to Harry's shoulder and from his shoulder to his head. Leaning over, she looked him squarely and upside-down in the eye, stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry. Tom and B'Elanna burst out laughing while the Doctor merely rolled his holographic eyeballs. Harry merely blinked at her.

"I believe I should obtain a sample of this spring water." the Doc said.

"Sure, Doc. Can can we all get back to our vacations now?" Tom asked, grinning.

"Of course, if you and Lieutenant Torres call throwing heavy objects at each other vacation."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**H**aving nothing better to do until the EMH had some results, Harry and the creature that Allucia had turned into went back to their hotel and respective rooms. Harry was playing his clarinet on the balcony when he heard a loud string of curses from the adjacent room whose balcony doors were also open. The instrument let out a pained squeak. He was about to return to playing when he realized it _wasn't_ a meow he heard from the ensign's room.

Harry was quickly at his crewmate's door, knocking. "Allucia?! Are you okay?!"

Her muffled voice came through the door. "I'm fine, Harry. Gimme a minute." she called.

"Okay." Harry called back, sighing in relief. It was so good to hear her voice again.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a human Allucia stood there, dressed in baggy black pants and a navy blue tank top. _She sure likes her pants awfully big,_ he thought absently. Her hair was slicked back, still being wet from the shower.

"I think I got it figured out," she said. "See, both times I got doused and turned into a cabbit, the water was cold." she began, using the native word that Ryoko had used earlier in reference to Ryo-ohki. "The guide turned me back with hot water. Weren't you listening when I told you earlier?" She looked positively annoyed with him. _And he's the Ops officer..._ Sighing, she continued. "Basically, if I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a cabbit, and hot water turns me back." She retreated further into her room and sat at the vanity. Harry followed her in. _Of course he couldn't remember the part about the hot water _earlier_, damned moron... he's the science officer, he should have figured it out first._

"Do you want to beam back to _Voyager_ and tell the Doc?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely not! I've had enough poking and prodding for one day, thanks!" Allucia let out a loud huff, towel-drying her hair and brushing it back. Then she quickly grabbed her combadge and slapped it on her shirt. "I need some air. I'll talk to you later, okay?" She was out the door before Harry could say anything else.

* * *

Again, Allucia found herself walking through the park. She wondered why she kept returning. It was as though she were drawn there. Maybe it was because she could actually enjoy this one and not have to worry about being mugged. Despite the lack of muggers, however, the young woman felt very on edge and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was her empathic powers trying to warn her of something. She felt like someone was going to sneak up on her or something. Her anxiety fueled her temper, and before she knew it her fist lashed out and hit the tree she was standing next to. Allucia winced as she heard splintering, and hoped it wasn't the bones in her hand. Then she heard ominous thundering above her.

"Oh, crap." Allucia murmured as she realized she had to get back to her hotel as soon as possible and took off.

She didn't even make it halfway out of the park before the heavens opened and it began to rain.

_"Reeeooowwwrrr!" _the cabbit howled, and took off for the nearest tree, where she realized she should have stayed in the first place. The cabbit reached the tree, and once sheltered by its canopy, proceeded to shake her fur out. Then she sniffed the air.

Her ears perked up. She smelled food. The aroma was coming from around the other side of the tree. She bounded over. There she found a sleeping young adult man with a yellow and black bandanna wound around his head. A large backpack sat nearby, with a red umbrella leaning against it. Resting on his stomach was an opened package of food of some type.

The cabbit leaned back, preparing to pounce, growling softly. Cabbit or no cabbit, food was food. She leaped...

...and was caught by a pair of hands.

She immediately started yowling, but finding it didn't loosen the grip on her, she shut up. Instead, she pouted at who she had awakened, asking for food and forgiveness at the same time. She also realized how big humanoids look to small animals.

Ryoga chuckled at the cabbit who had tried to steal his chow mien bread and put her down on his stomach. "Sorry, but you're not... well... okay." He wasn't going to give the bread to the cabbit at first, but it gave him such an imploring look he had to relent. Well, a little.

"Sit," Ryoga commanded of the cabbit ogling his food.

The cabbit lost her doe-eyed look and just stared at him as if to tell him "forget it." Without her combadge with the Universal Translator built in, Allucia the cabbit actually had no idea what the person holding the food was saying, but by the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was trying to get her to perform a trick before he'd give her the food. Well, she most certainly wasn't going to indulge him.

"Sit!" Ryoga commanded more sternly. To his surprise, the cabbit shook its head, jumped up, and yanked the bread out of his hand. She laid down and proceeded to munch away. Ryoga chuckled. "I think I'll call you Musha-ohki," he said. "It means 'munching cabbit.' You don't mind, do you?"

The cabbit smiled and shook her head, although she still couldn't understand a word he was saying. She thought it did sound vaguely like Japanese, however, which she only knew because downloading animated shows from Japan had been a hobby of hers back in the 21st century. However, everything she downloaded was subtitled in English, and she only knew a few words and had no where near a working understanding of the language.

Ryoga thought this was one strange cabbit. Then a sudden thought hit him. This was no ordinary cabbit. He knew plenty of people that were cursed at Jusenkyo, and it was relatively easy to tell who was a real animal and who wasn't just by their behavior. But there was no Spring of Drowned Cabbit... was there? _But still..._ An idea came to him. _Whoever this poor soul is, they would probably appreciate the help resuming their normal form._

"You're not really a cabbit, are you?" he asked. "Just stuck in the body of one? You turned into a cabbit when you got caught in the rainstorm, yes?"

'Musha-ohki' looked directly at him, locking his gaze. She had only understood the word 'rain' wondered if it was possible if he knew what had happened to her.

Ryoga noticed the distinctly un-animal-like stare the cabbit gave him and figured he had nothing to lose. At worst, he would just end up with a still-soggy cabbit. At best, he'd be helping a kindred soul out. "Now, to get you back to your former form... c'mon, I know a place where we can get a kettle of hot water. I go there myself." Musha-ohki nodded, and leapt onto Ryoga's head. He withdrew an umbrella from his nearby backpack, and the two set off across the park; but in the wrong direction, unbeknown to Ryoga.

"You know," Ryoga was saying, "I have the same problem, except--"

All of a sudden Ryoga wasn't there anymore, and Musha-ohki found herself falling, landing on someone small.

It was a small black pig, wearing a bow around its neck exactly like the bandanna Ryoga wore on his head. Musha-ohki realized what Ryoga's problem was. When he got splashed, he turned into a piglet.

P-chan sighed, and the expression on his face clearly finished the sentence he had began a few seconds earlier. Her looked at Musha-ohki for a moment, then, with a loud squeal, charged after the kids who were puddle jumping in the rainstorm, leaving a soggy, bewildered cabbit staring after him.

* * *

A little while and several bitten hotel employees later, Allucia emerged from Harry's bathroom. While she was returning to human form, he went to the park and retrieved her shed clothing (which was fortunately easy to find since she hadn't gotten very far from the hotel to begin with). "It's a good thing that cold water doesn't turn you human again," Harry said. "Otherwise you'd be running around naked."

"Which I'm sure you wouldn't mind," Allucia responded with a snicker, making Harry turn bright red. "Besides, Musha-ohki has been running around naked, if you're into that kind of thing."

"Musha-ohki?"

Allucia smiled. "Someone in the park named the cabbit me that while I devoured their lunch, at least I think they did. I actually had no idea what they were saying without my combadge."

"Very fitting, but I think 'pig' would have been more appropriate."

"True, but it's probably taken already by the person who gave me the name. Apparently, he has the same problem as me, or I him, except he turns into an adorable little piggy. Never did catch his name though. And it does have to do with those so-called 'enchanted' springs." She snorted. "'Enchanted', my ass. More like 'cursed' springs if you ask me."

Harry shrugged. This conversation was just too weird for him, so he changed the subject. "Well, I've prepared us a picnic. Would you like to have an early dinner in the park?" he said, picking up a basket Allucia hadn't seen earlier.

Allucia thought for a moment. "Any chance of rain anymore today?" _Please say yes. Otherwise this is the last time I'm putting up with you._

Harry laughed. "I took it upon myself to check for you. None whatsoever." He proffered his free arm. "Shall we?"

Taking a deep calming breathe, she counted to ten. "But of course," Allucia agreed, taking the arm.

* * *

"I--I--I'm sorry," Harry stammered. "I just assumed--"

"Just assumed _what?!" _Allucia yelled back. "That just because my parents divorced and I lived without a father half of my life means I have some personal vendetta against men and that's why we haven't been getting along?! Look at B'Elanna! She grew up without a father! And if you think about it, so did Tom!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I just meant--"

"I don't want to hear it! Have you ever stopped to think that _you_ might be the one I have a problem with?! Leave me alone! Spoiled brat!" She went to get up off the picnic blanket. The conversation had gone fine until Harry had said the wrong thing. And now that her patience had run completely dry with the operations officer, the pilot was seeing several shades of scarlet.

He grabbed her wrist. "Lusha, please--"

She turned around and punched him square in the face, then ran off into the darkness. She ran until she tripped over her own foot, and fell onto the dewy grass, sobbing. _How dare Harry say that! And to dredge up unhappy memories besides._ She seemed to have a lot of those. There was no way she was going back to her hotel tonight. Allucia decided to spend the night in the park.

The ensign picked herself up off of the grass and made her way over to a tree, which was nothing but a massive silhouette against a starry sky. If it started to rain again, Allucia most certainly did not want to be caught out in the open. She reached the tree, and promptly drove her fist into it, falling back to her knees in tears once more.

Some distance away, Ryoga was again walking in the park. He never spent so much time here before; on top of that, he was trying to leave town to train in the mountains. So he walked in the darkness. It was quite calming, actually. Nothing but the crickets chirping, a cool breeze blowing, and a woman crying. _A woman crying?_ he thought, mentally taking a step back. Hibiki Ryoga may not be the sharpest bo shuriken in the hand when it came to some things, but he knew what he heard. He decided to follow the sound, and, after some trouble, was shocked to find the beautiful offworlder whom he had been admiring.

Ryoga hated to see anyone cry, especially a woman. Especially a woman he had growing feelings for. "Why do you cry?" he asked quietly, kneeling next to her. "Has someone hurt you?"

The sobbing Allucia raised her head, and through her haze of tears, saw Ryoga crouched next to her. Some detached thought in the back of her mind recognized him as the person who had given Musha-ohki his chow mien bread, and the boy who gotten his butt kicked by Akane the previous day, but these thoughts were quickly filed away due to her spastic mental state.

"I... I mean... ummm... he..." was all she could get out before she started crying again. Her mind tended to go in circles at warp speed when she was upset. So even if she did manage to calm herself down, once her thoughts came full circle (that is, when she immediately mentally reviewed why she was upset) she usually made herself just as emotional as she was to begin with, if not more so.

Ryoga repeated what he said before, quietly. "What's wrong, has someone hurt you?"

Sniffles began to overtake the sobs as Allucia managed to concentrate enough to slow her mind from warp to impulse. "W-who are you" she asked quietly. Compassion was emanating off him in waves. After Harry's hormones, it was a welcome change.

"I am Hibiki Ryoga... I saw you from my meditation spot. I admit I liked what I saw, but could not comprehend why such a beautiful woman would be crying... especially when I'm around... c'mon... tell me what's wrong. You'll feel better. Is... is it over love? Has something happened to lose your love?" Ryoga sighed. "I lost my love to some other guy... I know how it feels. The pain overtakes you... but you have to be strong and let your emotions out..."

Allucia just looked at Ryoga for a moment, then made an attempt to get herself under control, though she didn't do it very well. Tuvok wouldn't be pleased at her lack of self-control. Ryoga sat down next to her and nervously put an arm around her. She didn't seem to mind for moment, but then she angrily stood up and began pacing. "I lost no love, just an idiot with a big mouth..." She jumped to her feet, swung around, and punched the tree. "In fact, I'm glad to be rid of him!"

Ryoga jumped. Akane was the only other girl he had seen act like that. Well... non-homicidal girl, anyway. At least from what he had seen so far.

"How's _that_ for letting emotions out," Allucia muttered, shaking from anger.

Ryoga stared blankly at Allucia for a moment, his eyes sparkling slightly.

Allucia blushed under his scrutiny. "Wha..."

"Ah... umm... I... I... I have never seen... well... um..." Ryoga blushed. "...another girl do that before other than... Akane..." Ryoga looked up at Allucia again. His lips silently uttered the shape of the words "Beautiful... yet so stubborn... and... and..."

Since the marital artist was not speaking loud enough for Allucia's universal translator to pick up, his silent words were lost on her. "I remember Akane... she kicked my ass, but still a very sweet girl. Reminds me of myself."

"What _is_ your name?"

She looked surprised. "A-Allucia..."

Ryoga took her hand, but didn't expect a fist in his face, which he scarcely registered.

"A... Allucia... ah..." Having reflexively closed his eyes when her fist made contact with his face, he gazed at Allucia with bright sparkling eyes, admiration clearly showing through.

Allucia gasped and covered her mouth. But to her shock, her fist didn't seem to phase him. "I'm sorry... I mean... I didn't ... umm ... reflex! Honest!"

"I... will... maybe... maybe we could go for a tea?"

The ensign permitted a small smile to escape her lips. "Okay," she said.

* * *

Ryoga brought Allucia to a restaurant called the Nekohanten, open late. A girl with long purple hair that spoke in broken Yamatoan greeted them. The ensign wondered again about the universal translator built into the combadge she was wearing as soon as she was introduced to the waitress.

"Nihao, Shampoo," Ryoga said. "May we have a table?"

"Hai, Ryoga." Shampoo said. She had quite the high pitched voice. "And who girl with Pig-boy?"

Allucia smiled. "I'm Allucia Banks, of the _USS Voyager."_

"Ah, funny looking tadpole ship!"

"Er... yeah."

"This way!" Shampoo led them to a table.

Allucia and Ryoga sat on the opposite sides of the table from each other. "What kind of tea would you like?" Ryoga asked.

"I don't know... whatever you have."

* * *

Allucia and Ryoga stayed in the Nekohanten talking for over an hour until some old lady bouncing around on a stick, Cologne, as Allucia had found out her name was, kicked them out. So the two returned to the park. They settled under a tree and ended up talking the entire night, the topics of their conversation ranging from their lives in general to their journeys.

"You are not from this time?" Ryoga asked, confused. "But if that is true, you must be very, very old. Yet you look so young, not like that old ghoul back at the Nekohanten. And beautiful."

"Well, it's weird," Allucia said, blushing again. "I went through a wormhole, and came out 300 years after my time, though only seconds passed for me."

Ryoga thought for a moment. "Wow... Well, in any case, Allucia--"

"Call me Lusha." she said, smiling broadly for the for the first time in a very long time.

Ryoga's smile grew bigger. "Lusha, I..." Then he trailed off, losing his train of thought as he took in her broad smile and blue eyes that suddenly seemed to become brighter and just gazed at her.

Allucia also found herself mesmerized by Ryoga's gaze. It wasn't just his eyes, but the strong feelings she was sensing from him. Respect, adoration, and something pure, yet soul-warming; but Allucia couldn't figure out what it was. She leaned closer.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Their lips were about to meet...

...when a deluge of cold water hit them from above.

_"Reowr!"_

_"Kwee!"_

The two cursed animals worked their way out of their former vestments of clothing. Musha-ohki and P-chan stared at each other in utter shock, not noticing a shadowy figure not-so-stealthily disembarking from the tree.

Musha-ohki finally broke the silence with a miyah, and gave P-chan one of those cute animal smiles. P-chan returned it and began to bound off, kweeing once behind him as a signal to Musha-ohki to follow.

She followed P-chan to a home within the town; but why he passed it three times before they actually entered it was beyond her. He nudged open the outside gate with his snout, and went in, Musha-ohki following, then followed the piglet into one of two buildings on the premises.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**A**kane was sparring with Ranma in her family's dojo the next morning (one of the benefits of Ranma admitting his feelings on Phoenix Mountain was that he decided to train with his fiancée a little more seriously) after breakfast when Akane heard not one, but two sets of snores originating from behind the barbells where P-chan usually dozed.

"Ranma, stop. I hear something," Akane said, ducking as Ranma flew over her with an outstretched foot. He adjusted his jump, and using the wall as leverage, landing nimbly on his feet besides Akane.

"Wassup Akane?"

Akane quietly walked over to her barbells and peered behind them, and giggled. "Ranma, look! They're so kawaii..." she said, momentarily forgetting her anger towards the fanged boy.

P-chan and Musha-ohki were curled up on the floor. Musha-ohki was laying on her stomach, quietly snoring. P-chan was curled up next to her, her floppy ear serving as a blanket.

"Hey... the pig found himself a girlfriend!"

Akane glowered at him. "_Ranma!_ Be nice! I won't have you making him feel unwelcome, or his friend!" _Even if he is a hentai..._

The noise woke the two animals. P-chan opened his eyes, blinked a few times, then closed them again. The cabbit opened her eyes, focused on the two huge people who were yelling in a language she didn't understand, and hid the best she could under her ears, effectively relieving P-chan of his warm blanket, thus reawakening him. He looked at Musha-ohki, sulked, and slowly walked out of the dojo. Ranma followed with an annoyed huff.

"Ranma, don't you hurt him!" Akane yelled after him. Ranma yelled something unintelligible back and went into the house. Akane shook her head and picked the little furry black cabbit up. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said.

Meanwhile, Ranma took P-chan, holding him by his bandanna, up to the furo. He quickly filled the tub up with a couple inches of hot water, and unceremoniously chucked the piggy in.

Ryoga appeared almost instantaneously. "Geez Ranma! Do you always have to dump me in like that!?"

"Yeah, cuz yer such a pain! Do you sleep _anywhere_ else besides the dojo? Or Akane's bedroom?! I'm shocked you can even find your way here all the time!"

As Ryoga climbed out of the tub, Ranma tossed him a bundle of clothing he'd grabbed from the linen closet on his way to the furo. One of the few benefits of changing at the Tendos' from either form and getting lost shortly thereafter is that when he left his clothes behind, Kasumi made sure they were cleaned and put away until he returned. The fanged boy glared at Ranma for a moment. "I can hear Akane coming up the stairs, I gotta go." With that, Ryoga quickly exited through the window without a further word, leaving a surprised Ranma.

There was a knock at the door. "Ranma, are you done in there?" Akane called through the door. She most certainly _did not_ want to walk in on either of the hentais.

"Uh, no, but you can go ahead anyway," Ranma replied, sliding the door open.

Akane was standing there, still holding the cabbit, looking a bit surprised. "T-thank you..."

"Whatever." He quickly moved past her.

Akane shrugged, and closed the door. Musha-ohki realized she was in a bathroom and therefore had a chance to change back.

As Akane began to fill the tub with water, Musha-ohki saw her chance. On a mirror that was beginning to steam up, started drawing with her paw... an awkward picture of a cabbit, a kettle with little wavy lines for steam over it, and a stick figure of a humanoid.

Musha-ohki finished her work and meowed loudly. Akane looked up and was shocked to see what the cabbit had communicated. Sure, cabbits were intelligent, but Akane was stunned nevertheless. "You... you're cursed?" Akane stuttered. The cabbit nodded, not even realizing she could understand every word Akane was saying. "But you _are_ a girl, right?" Musha-ohki nodded again.

"Then, by all means, turn yourself back." Akane gestured to the furo.

Musha-ohki miyahed in thanks and jumped into the now-full tub. Allucia surfaced a moment later. "Akane, I don't know how to thank you!" she exclaimed.

"Allucia?!" Akane exclaimed, taking a moment to remember the alien's name she'd met a couple of days before. "My goodness, you went to Jusenkyo, didn't you?" At Allucia's blank stare, she continued. "Cursed Springs." Akane paused a moment. "But there is no Ohkiniichuan that I know of..."

"Cursed?! I thought the sign said 'Enchanted'! ... Hey, how come I can understand you?"

Akane shook her head, dumped the bin of cold water over her head, then joined Allucia in the large tub. "We get so many visitors, most households on our planet have translators built in." Allucia nodded her understanding, although she was feeling a bit embarrassed for a moment, but reminded herself that they were both girls.

The two teenage girls ended up staying in the furo awhile, talking, and found they had a lot in common. To them, they were strong women who wouldn't take any bull from a man. Although others would probably view them as violent tomboys with vicious tempers, but such things are in the eye of the beholder. Regardless, as with most girls, no matter how tomboyish or strong they are, all conversations will eventually turn to opposite sex.

"Is there a boy you like, Allucia?" Akane found herself asking. Although she was just beginning to get to know the Earthling, she found the offworlder easy to talk to... they had a lot in common with the exception of her chasing Ranma, and Akane didn't really have any female friends that fell into that category. Besides, Akane did discover her in the dojo with Ryoga and had to admit she was a little bit curious.

"Well... uh... oh dear. What a messy question." Then a look of alarm crossed her face and she leapt out of the tub, wrapping herself in a towel. She addressed Akane's questioning glance. "I realized the water had cooled down a lot. Didn't want to go cabbit again."

"Oh, okay." Akane smiled. "That makes sense. I should probably get out too, before I totally shrivel."

The girls wrapped themselves in towels and quietly padded down the hall to Akane's room.

"I have some clothes you can borrow," Akane offered.

"Thanks," Allucia said, "since mine were kinda left in the park when me and--uh, my friend were there." Akane gave Allucia a curious look but didn't say anything. But the fact that the human had deftly avoided her last question was not lost on her.

Akane tossed Allucia a pink shirt and blue shorts, along with some undergarments. Allucia put them on and found they fit perfectly. "Wow, I swear if I wasn't on another planet, I'd think that these are my clothes."

"Really?" Akane said. "Do they fit well?"

"Perfectly... even the bra!" Both girls collapsed into a fit of giggles.

* * *

Later that day, the newfound friends were walking back towards the hotel where Allucia was staying. Anyone who was watching the two girls would think they were life-long friends judged by how they were getting along. Just two, happy, talking teenage girls. In fact, to those who didn't know them, they might have been mistaken for sisters for their similar haircuts, although their eyes could tell them apart... one with brown eyes, one with blue.

They were exiting the park when slightly disheveled Harry ran up to Allucia. "Lusha! Where have you been?! I've been searching for you all night!"

Allucia fixed Harry with an icy glare, then banged against him with her shoulder roughly as she walked by him and into the hotel, knocking him flat on his rear end.

"Who was he?" Akane asked as they entered the elevator.

"Someone who got me upset. He's lucky I didn't pound him into the ground." Akane nodded her understanding, having been in that situation plenty of times herself.

* * *

Akane and Allucia decided to have a girls' day out. For them, this meant shopping and sparring with each other afterwards. Akane taught Allucia some Anything-Goes moves, and Allucia taught Akane some T'Lok and Mok'Bara moves, too.

"Hey," Allucia asked as they finished cleaning up the battered dojo, "you want to see _Voyager_, my ship?"

"Sure... how will we get there? Do you need a shuttle? Transport?"

"Like this," Allucia said, then tapped her combadge. "Banks to _Voyager_. Two to beam up, lock onto my signal." She turned to Akane.

As their final molecules set into place, Akane shuddered. "Whaaat... You coulda warned me, you know. I _hate_ transports." She didn't mention, however, that Yamatoan technology was much smoother with it.

"Sorry!" Allucia said with a laugh, dragging Akane down from the platform and out the door. Their first stop was Holodeck Two. "Want me to show you where I used to live?" Allucia asked. "It's a program me and my friend Josè have been working on." Akane nodded.

After showing Akane a few more programs, the two left the holodeck. Allucia wanted to pick up a few things in her quarters before beaming back down, so they were en route there, chatting a mile a minute.

Allucia was in the middle of a sentence as she and Akane rounded a bend, nearly ran into Captain Janeway and a visitor Allucia didn't recognize (who looked like he stole one of Tom's Hawaiian shirts). Kathryn had never seen two youngsters so quick to snap to attention.

"Good afternoon Captain!" Allucia said, straightening.

"Konnichi wa, Minister Kuno." Akane said simultaneously, bowing deeply.

The adults shared a bemused expression. "Hello, Ensign. Returning from shore leave so soon?" Kathryn asked, smirking.

"No ma'am! I mean... I was just showing my friend the ship. Her name is Akane Tendo. Akane, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway."

Kathryn's companion spoke up. "Aloha, keiki! I being glad to see you is well. How Tachi be treating you?"

"Tatewaki is very polite, sir," Akane replied flatly. Allucia thought she saw a vein begin to protrude in her friend's temple.

"That's-a good." Minister Kuno bowed slightly to the ladies. "You be having a good afternoon, keikis!" He and Kathryn continued down after the girls awkwardly returned the sentiment. They continued down the corridor to the turbolift. Once inside, they indulged in some serious giggling.

"Omigosh, I thought the captain was going to retract my shore leave!"Allucia breathlessly exclaimed between giggles. "That was close... Deck Nine."

"Yes... I had a hard time keeping a straight face in front of Minister Kuno. He can't get it through his head that I'm not dating his son, and his son can't get it through his head that I'm dating Ranma."

_ I thought she said "engaged" earlier..._ The turbolift doors opened. "Like father, like son," she commented.

"Exactly."

* * *

Kathryn and Minister Kuno continued down the hall, chuckling. "Da big Kahuna be glad to see that our keikis be getting along so well," Minister Kuno commented.

"As am I. It's been a long time since Allucia's been with people her own age," Kathryn replied, wondering how long she would be able to keep a straight face with the manner of speaking the planet's prime minister had, reminding herself to have Seven of Nine look over the Universal Translator.

"Eh?""

"Miss Banks is one of two teenagers on a ship full of adults and one four year old. No doubt the other teenager will do the same when his shore leave begins."

"Ah, I see. Now, about thees place called Astrometrics..."

* * *

After the two girls beamed back down, Akane went back home (it was her night to cook, she had told her new friend) and Allucia headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap, kicking off her shoes. Spending the night as Musha-ohki sleeping on a dojo floor next to a piglet (albeit a cute one) was not Allucia's idea of a good night's sleep.

Allucia suddenly gasped, remembering the piglet. _Ryoga! He--I--damn! I have to find him..._

Forgetting her nap, she decided to go to the park, knowing she would find him there sooner or later. The girl quickly pulled her sneakers back on and bolted out of the room.

* * *

_ Why must this park be so huge,_ Allucia griped to herself. _A guy could get lost here... I'll never find him._ She was pacing around in circles.

"Boy, I'm glad you don't do that when you're flying."

Allucia jumped, and turned around. "Geez Paris, don't sneak up on me like that!" She could tell the other pilot was in full vacation mode; he was in khakis and one of his Hawaiian shirts.

"I didn't, you were just too wrapped up in your pacing."

"Whoop-de-do."

Tom sighed. "So... what's wrong?"

"Nuthin'."She punctuated this statement by crossing her arms over her chest.

This response alone only strengthened Tom's assumption that something was up. He bet he knew just what it was, too. "Of course there is. I've been watching you pace for nearly twenty minutes." Tom paused. "Does this have anything to do with Harry?"

"Not as much as you would think... Why, did he tell you?"

"Not in as so many words. He came to me and Bella's room a few minutes after it happened with a bloody nose. He asked if I could take care of it so he wouldn't have to report in with the Doctor or Tuvok." Tom explained. "Of course when I asked for how he got it, you know him, it all came tumbling out. Not that I couldn't figure it out myself, of course."

Allucia winced, but otherwise remained calm. "Well, now he knows what it feels like to be on my bad side."

Tom closed his eyes for a moment. "Allucia, you know--" He reopened his eyes. "Lush?" The ensign had, for lack of a better word, disappeared. Tom exhaled loudly and walked off. "Why me?!" he muttered, throwing his hands up in disgust.

The teenager watched Tom walk off, and sighed in relief. She could deal with him later. When the elder pilot was out of sight, she finally dared to shift her position on the branch, which creaked dangerously. She was thankful to B'Elanna for getting her into the calisthenics.

Allucia froze, then moved a tiny bit more to stabilize her weight on the branch. Looking around, she decided the tree would make a good look-out point. Unfortunately, she also remembered how terrified she was of heights, which hadn't occurred her as she made her hiding place there. She may not have been very high, but just high enough to give her a sense of vertigo.

"Why-did-I-vault-into-the-tree-I-hate-heights-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking!?" she blabbered, squeaking partly. She remained perfectly still, too scared to move.

Meanwhile, Ryoga had also returned to the park with the same objective Allucia had in mind. He had felt a little dejected from when Musha-ohki had deprived P-chan of his blanket, but later realized Allucia wasn't used to being a cabbit, and such a small animal, too.

He sat under a nearby tree, preparing to meditate, since there was nothing else to do. Besides, it had brought Allucia to him twice before... He thought he heard a rustle in the branches above, but pushed it out of his mind as he attempted to clear it.

Then...

**_ Creeeeak... SNAP!_ **

The branch Allucia was perched on snapped in half. _"Aiiiieeeeeeek!"_ she shrieked.

Ryoga's head snapped up. He saw a humanoid shape above him, quickly growing in size; he reflexively jumped to his feet and outstretched his arms to catch whomever was falling.

_"Oof!" _Allucia landed safely in Ryoga's arms, a bit dazed.

The martial artist couldn't believe his luck, and reminded himself to meditate more often if it meant Allucia showing up. He just gazed at her, jaw hanging slightly, not letting her down.

Allucia finally got her bearings, and looked at the person who had most likely saved her some broken bones and quality time in Sickbay. "Ryoga!" she gasped. "I... uh... ah..." she blushed.

Ryoga gazed back, not taking his eyes off her. "Fallen from the heavens?" Allucia flushed an even deeper red. "If that is the case, where are your wings, my angel?"

"Uh... uh... they--uh, ummm... only sprout when I get hit by cold water? Hehehe--" she stuttered out, turning redder by the second.

He burst out laughing and finally put Allucia down. "I've never heard a curse put that way... actually... yes I have. Hey... are you okay?"

Allucia was blushing furiously, nearly a shade of purple. "Well... uh... I... ah... that is..." she stammered. Then she slapped herself across the face to compose herself. "W-w-wanna have dinner tonight?" she asked, plastering on a silly grin. _Awww man, this is serious if he is already making me this stupid..._ she thought to herself.

Ryoga's eyes widened at the self-discipline. "Sure... but I've been invited to eat at the Tendo house tonight. But I'm sure they won't mind if you come along."

"Okay, great!" Allucia beamed. "That's why I asked. Akane had invited me too, said it was her night to cook."

Ryoga facefaulted. "Akane... cooking... tonight?" The last word was more of a squeak than of a articulated sound. No wonder Ranma had invited him over for dinner. It was his payback for keeping his secret all those years.

Not noticing Ryoga's alarm, Allucia nodded. "I can't wait, it's been so long since I've had real food."

"As if whatever Akane cooks can be considered edible," Ryoga muttered, scratching his head.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

* * *

Allucia and Ryoga approached the Tendo home, seeing an object trailing smoke behind it flying skyward as they opened the gate. They'd been trying to reach the place for the past hour, Ryoga had taken a couple of wrong turns. Fortunately, Allucia remembered how to get there, trying to figure out how in the _hell_ Ryoga got lost going to his friends' home twice in a row...

She stared at the screaming projectile in disbelief as it appeared to enter orbit. Ryoga shook his head. "Akane Airlines, now in flight." He looked at Allucia. "Ranma will be back in a few minutes."

"What happened?"

Ryoga shook his head, chuckling, and didn't answer.

The two entered the house and into chaos. Allucia was taken slightly aback at first, but then smiled, remembering similar times in her own home when she was four or five.

One instance in particular involved her older brother chewing his food and then displaying the contents of his mouth to Allucia. Her reaction to this was to start whining and complaining which caused the dog to start barking which caused Allucia's mother to scream at her sibling something to the effect of stop badgering your little sister and eat like a human being or go to your room without finishing dinner.

The Tendo household at the present moment existed on a higher level of chaos.

Peculiar aromas, smoke, and yelling were coming from the kitchen. In the dining area, there was a large panda sitting at one end of the table, and a tall man with long dark hair and a mustache weeping at the other, mumbling something about how his baby girl was cooking...

Then there was yelling behind Allucia and Ryoga as a girl with red hair who seemed to be wearing a baggy version of Ranma's clothes stormed in, screaming, and headed directly upstairs.

Allucia looked at Ryoga. "Is this normal for dinnertime?"

"Only when Akane cooks."

About fifteen minutes later, the table was set and the food put out. Everyone was quiet, cautiously poking at their food. Allucia quickly glanced around the table, shrugged, then took up her chopsticks and put some food into her mouth.

All heads turned to her, including Akane's (who wore a grin on her face, contrary to the nervous stares of everyone else). Allucia stopped chewing for a moment, self-conscious, then she smiled and continued eating.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**"V**oyager _to Banks,"_ came Kathryn's voice.

It was the day after the ensign's dinner at the Tendos, and she was feeling perfectly fine. Allucia put her hairbrush down on the vanity and tapped her combadge. "Banks here."

_ "Ensign, please beam back up at your earliest convenience. Meet me in my ready room. _Voyager _out."_

The young woman gulped. The captain did not sound happy. She'd better beam up immediately. She quickly dug a slightly rumpled uniform out of her luggage and put it on. "Banks to Transporter Room Three. One to beam up."

Allucia's hotel room disappeared to be replaced with the transporter room. She nodded to the operator on duty as she left the room, walking at a brisk pace.

Two minutes later, she stood outside the Captain's ready room, awaiting acknowledgment.

_ "Come,"_ came the authoritative voice from within.

Allucia entered the room to see Tom, the Doctor, and Kathryn conversing, grim expressions on her faces.

In the time it took Allucia to become very nervous and pale considerably, Kathryn had risen from the seat behind her desk and was now standing in front of it. She motioned towards the couch. "Take a seat, Allucia."

"I'll stand." Allucia replied.

Kathryn nodded. "Very well." She cleared her throat. "About a half-hour ago, Ensign Kim was beamed to Sickbay, unconscious. He has been stabilized and while he's still unconscious, he will make a full recovery." Kathryn looked at Allucia, as if expecting her to respond. The ensign remained silent. "An injury to his nose, which wasn't healed properly, began to hemorrhage into his brain." She paused a moment.

Allucia closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Captain. I'll confine myself to quarters, or even the brig, if you like."

"Lush--" Tom began, but Kathryn put up her hand to silence him.

"Allucia," she began. "I'm not going to punish you. I know you realize what you did, and knowing you, your own guilt is enough punishment for it. Tom's told us what happened, as I'm sure you figured out."

Allucia nodded, and spoke quietly. "Can I visit him?"

The Doc nodded. "Yes--but for only a short time. You could go now, if you like."

The ensign looked at Kathryn, who nodded. "Thank you," she said, and quietly left the room, with a nod.

"She took that rather well," the captain mused.

"No," Tom replied, "she didn't. Permission to be dismissed?"

Kathryn nodded, trusting his judgment. "Granted."

Tom returned the nod, and quickly left the ready room. The turbolift doors were just starting to close; Tom stuck his hand between them and slid into the turbolift when they reopened.

Allucia raised an eyebrow. "Deck Five. Am I to have an escort?" she asked as the turbolift began its descent.

Tom sighed, and went straight to the point. "Lush, Harry will be fine." The younger pilot didn't respond. "It's not your fault."

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, narrowing her eyes at Tom. "If I had kept myself under control, Harry wouldn't be in Sickbay right now."

"No, it's my fault. I should have beamed back to _Voyager_ with Harry and checked him out in Sickbay."

"But I'm the one who punched him." The turbolift doors opened and they began walking down the hall.

"But I'm the one who healed his injury wrong."

They entered Sickbay. Harry lay inert on a nearby biobed. _"__I'm_ the one who can't control herself! I have no excuse!" Allucia exhaled loudly. "I mean, what if he dies?! Yes, I know I'm being paranoid, but I've learned to expect the unexpected. I mean, who would expect some punk teenager like me to get sucked through a piece of crap antique dryer and zapped 300 years into the future?!"

She was beginning to lose control. Tom noticed she wore the same expression on her face as she did as they were being led to the Klaamox slave market. She felt she was trapped and not in control.

Tom took his unofficial sister by her shoulders. "Allucia, listen to me. It was nobody's fault. There are too many 'ifs' so no one person can be held responsible."

The younger pilot held the elder pilot's gaze for a moment, then tore herself from his grasp, and fled the room, quickly throwing a glance at Harry.

Tom sighed. She was so self-incriminating. He wished he wouldn't be so hard on herself all the time. His thoughts were interrupted as an alarm went off on Harry's bed. Tom rushed over, quickly checking the readings. "Paris to EMH, medical emergency in Sickbay!" he called. Harry had gone into respiratory distress. Tom quickly gave him an injection of tri-oxine.

The Doctor appeared moments later, and took over. He quickly stabilized Harry with Tom's assistance. When they finished, he tapped his combadge, hoping to contact Allucia.

Meanwhile, Allucia beamed back down to the planet, into her hotel room. She quickly exited the room, and a few minutes later ran out of the hotel into the park. She cut through the park and into the forest it bordered on the far side.

She ran until she tripped over a tree root and landed flat on her face. She cursed loudly; first, because aside from landing on her face, she landed partly on her bad elbow as well. Second, her nose broke her fall on what her elbow didn't.

Her combadge chirped. _"__Paris to Banks. Please, respond."_ Allucia looked in disdain at the device, then ripped it off. She flung it as far as she could like a discus into the brush, and resumed her run.

* * *

Elsewhere, Ryoga was walking in the forest. It was a nice enough day, except for one thing.

He was lost.

Again.

He'd been on his way to the park, hoping to run into Allucia again. These random meetings of theirs seemed the best way to find her. If he missed her in the park, he'd never forgive himself. But now it was getting dark, and the nocturnal animals could be heard.

_**"Where on Yamato am I noooowwww!?"**_

* * *

Hours later, Allucia was even more lost than the fanged boy, an incredible feat in itself. She couldn't contact the ship even if she wanted to, was without a phaser, and she was _freezing_. She'd been walking around for hours now, and was actually surprised that _Voyager_ hadn't beamed her back yet. Either that, or Tom realized she wanted to be alone.

Well, she'd make the best of it. After a few minutes longer, Allucia reached a clearing in the forest.

First, she'd need to build a fire. She honestly tried to remember how to build one... and was coming up completely blank. It wasn't part of her training aboard _Voyager_; after all, she was a pilot. And she'd never been camping when she was younger... she was much more interested in her computer. Not to mention camping was impossible in Brooklyn.

Then she remembered how she could strike two pieces of flint together to produce a spark. It seemed to work in the movies all the time. She gathered some kindling, and located some rocks she hoped was Yamato's equivalent of flint.

Allucia struck the rocks together. Nothing happened. She struck the two again. And again. And again. Then a few more times, producing the same result: nothing.

By now she was starting to tremble from the cold. She's never liked the cold at all. Hell, she hated to be outside unless it was warm out. She stood and flung the rocks into the darkness, cursing. After a moment's thought, she picked up and threw a small boulder she found nearby as well. "Harry, you are such a... _**jerk!" **_ This was all _his_ fault, after all. If he had gone to the Doctor in the first place like he should have, she wouldn't be down here feeling guilty right now.

* * *

Ryoga was looking for a place to camp for the night, when he heard somebody cursing in a language he hadn't heard since he was a little boy. He wasn't sure if they were curses, but the context fit. Before he could place the familiar voice, two small rocks pinged off his head; then he was hit in the head by a much larger rock and hit the ground like a lump.

Allucia expected to hear the rocks land in the bushes with some slight rustling. Instead, she heard the rocks hit something with two soft _fwumps_ followed by a _thud_, then something heavier fall, like an animal with an even louder _thud_.

She stifled a yelp, freezing for a moment; then, not hearing any further movement, went to investigate.

She was surprised to find Ryoga. She absently wondered how he had gotten as lost as she, still blissfully unaware of the fact that he had a non-existent sense of direction. However, he was unconscious and that needed attending to.

Allucia threw Ryoga over her right shoulder and started back towards the clearing, half-dragging him. When she reached it, she gently laid him down. Then she went back and retrieved his backpack, which she also had to drag.

By now it was fully dark, with two full moons hanging in the sky, moonlight illuminating the clearing.

Ryoga had a canteen of water on him; she allowed herself a small sip. _God, he's adorable,_ she thought, gazing at him.

She then noticed a slight bruise on the side of his face. She frowned. Given the size of the boulder, it was a wonder she hadn't taken his head off, or at least made him bleed. Allucia cringed. That was her fault. Again. She triumphantly suppressed an urge to hit something, took a deep breath, and counted to ten.

Moments later, Ryoga opened his eyes to see a pair of concerned blue eyes gazing back into his own. A cold hand came from out of his line of sight and brushed some of the hair out of his eyes.

"Ryoga, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you with that boulder... wasn't watching where I threw it."

"Lusha... ? It's okay," Ryoga replied. "You have cold hands, you know that?" He sat up, putting a hand to his head.

Allucia looked sheepish, and shrugged, unconsciously making a fist and clutching it to her chest. She blushed. "I-I-I'm sorry, they've always been like that." She paused a moment. "Soooo... How did _you_ get lost?" She moved a hand to scratch the back of her head. Why did she get so stupid around this guy? She composed herself and immediately vocalized the next question that came to her mind: "Waitaminute. I don't have my combadge with my translator. How come I can understand you?"

Ryoga laughed. _Of all the stupidest questions she could ask him..._ He decided to combine the answers to her questions. "Well, because I speak your language. Truth be told, I have a horrible sense of direction. It is hereditary. When that happens, you tend to get an ear for languages." He smiled. "But somehow, I keep finding you."

Allucia returned the smile, and didn't know what to say. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. _Damn regulation uniforms are so damned thin..._ "Um, do you know how to build a fire? My attempts failed, resulting in a bump on the head for you."

Ryoga didn't say anything. He simply stared at Allucia, unblinking. She wondered if that was drool dangling from the corner of his mouth, and called his name again.

"Huh?!" Ryoga said, snapping out of his semi-trance. "Uh, hai, fire. I can do that." Allucia stifled a giggle.

Ryoga quickly built a fire using the kindling Allucia had previously collected. She huddled close to the fire; she was still very cold. She was staring at the flames, captivated, when she felt an arm go around her. She jumped.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you. If you're uncomfortable, I'll--" Allucia cut him off by shaking her head. He smiled. "Better?" Ryoga asked. Allucia looked at the fanged boy with a smile, nodded, and snuggled further into his embrace. She laid her head on his chest, and realized something. Harry's embrace wasn't as strong as Ryoga's... and she felt so much safer in Ryoga's arms as well. With Harry, she felt jumpy and tense. _Probably because Harry is such a jerk, and I want nothing to do with him..._ Allucia sighed.

The Lost Boy was wondering why his nose was still in good shape, but lost that thought when he picked up on Allucia's sigh. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just feeling sorry for myself."

Ryoga looked at the lost girl he cradled in his arms and suddenly could only think of one thing: kissing her. _Now_ his nose began to throb slightly. He gazed at her, a slightly goofy smile on his face.

Unbeknown to Ryoga, his thought was so strong, that Allucia's weak empathic abilities were able to pick up on it. She was surprised, but didn't show it. Quickly forgetting she was supposed to be feeling guilty, she smiled back. After gathering her nerve, she tilted her head up and kissed him gently on the lips.

Allucia felt happiness and surprise emanate from Ryoga at the same time. So she wrapped her arms around his neck, prolonging the kiss, which Ryoga earnestly returned; gently wrapping his arms a little more tightly around Allucia.

No other girl had ever given him the light of day (especially Akane after the soap incident) besides Akari. But Akari only loved him because him because of P-chan, and defeating her champion pig. Allucia cared for him in his uncursed form, even knowing of his cursed one. Even more, she had a curse as well. He felt her tremble slightly.

The two separated a few moments later, and merely looked at each other for a moment, before Allucia rested her head in the crook of his arm again.

Ryoga was pleasantly shocked into silence. First, he thought it'd been love at first sight, perhaps only an infatuation... now, he believed he'd found the love of his life. Second... his nose hadn't started gushing blood. Yet. That had to mean something too.

Allucia was contemplating her impulsive action, and decided she was justified in doing it. She was really beginning to like Ryoga... or perhaps more.

"Allucia?" Ryoga said quietly.

"Yes?" she replied, just as quiet.

He hesitated. "..Never mind. What do you say, we get some sleep? I have a tent... but it is such a beautiful night. What do you say we just sleep under the stars?"

Allucia gazed up at the sky, and nodded, a small smile on her face. Tearing himself away from her, Ryoga quickly got his sleeping roll out of his sack. Minutes later when they were both snuggled into it, Allucia again cuddled herself into the crook of his arm. A few minutes later, she had fallen fast asleep; Ryoga fell asleep gazing at her, a smile on his face.

* * *

When the morning bird song woke Ryoga, Allucia was gone. It was morning. The sound of splintering wood could be heard from a short distance away, accompanied by the occasional grunt. He found her beating away at a tree, mostly with her fists, which were beginning to bleed. She looked as though she were trying to hold back tears.

As Allucia swung her arm back to hit the tree again, she felt a warm hand take her by the wrist. Ryoga gazed into her eyes with a worried and questioning glance. She tried to free her arm, but Ryoga didn't budge. He just gazed at her. Allucia glared back. He was as strong, if not stronger, than Tuvok. She thought back to that fateful day when she had first met Tuvok and tried to beat on him; before he nerve-pinched her for her to awake later on in the brig.

"Let _go,"_ she articulated through gritted teeth.

Ryoga shook his head. "Not if it means you hitting that defenseless tree again."

Allucia stared back at Ryoga, and tried to free her arm again, unsuccessfully. Ryoga didn't even flinch, or blink (Tuvok had blinked). She stared a moment longer, then allowed her arm to go slack.

"What is it?" Ryoga asked, not letting go of her wrist, his gaze unmoving.

Allucia averted her eyes and stared at a small flower growing in the middle of a bush. "Nuthin'," she replied, a little too quickly.

Ryoga shook his head. "I may not have known you that long, but I know you are lying. I can see it in your eyes." he said quietly, staring deeply into her eyes again, using his free hand to gently cup her chin.

Unable to meet his gaze, Allucia turned away. Tensing her muscles, she prepared to bring her other arm up to try and free her other one; but before she could move, Ryoga held her by her other wrist. Her eyes widened. Here, she thought she was fast, but...

Meeting his gaze again, she began to glare at him and decided to try one more thing. She firmly planted her feet, then attempted to free both arms. She knew it wasn't going to work; Ryoga knew she wouldn't be able to free herself from his grasp, and this is the impression she received from him. And since Ryoga wasn't moving, Allucia snapped back like a rubber band, bumping into Ryoga with a jolt. He took the opportunity to tightly wrap his arms around her.

"Are you going to tell me what is wrong?" He wondered if it had anything to do with the nightmares he knew she'd been having during the night. He'd been awakened several times to the sounds of her whimpering and crying in her sleep, but she never woke from it.

It became obvious to Allucia that she wasn't going to win at this. She sagged in his arms, sighing. "It's... my friend Harry. I really fucked his nose up."

Ryoga's face fell. "That is... that is terrible. Will he be okay?"

Allucia shrugged. "Our ship's doctor says he will. But it's still my fault." She sighed again. "Remember when you found me in the park, sobbing, the other night? It was shortly after I punched Harry. He had said the wrong thing, to say the least." She sagged in his arms, sighing and again unable to meet his eyes. "I really had no business hitting him, he couldn't even defend himself, and I hit him way too hard. I didn't think about what I was doing. But... I was so wound up... so angry over other things... things that weren't even his fault... that I just lost control."

He relaxed his hold on her. "Tell you what. You are studying the Art, right?" She nodded. "I'll teach you an exercise that I use to... relieve stress. And it won't hurt you or anyone else." Her smile told him that she would be happy to learn it.

* * *

A few minutes later, Allucia facefaulted at the smoking crater in the center of the boulder the size a small shuttlecraft. Ryoga appeared behind it.

"Hi!" he offered with a cheerful fanged grin.

Allucia stood there, her jaw gently swaying with the breeze.

"It is called the Shi Chi Hokodan... you build up all your misery and sadness into a ball of ki... then blast it somewhere." Ryoga fell silent a moment. "I use it constantly, whenever I'm unhappy. Of course, here... it is really weak. I have been rather happy lately..." He gazed at Allucia. "And it is all thanks to you." She turned a bright shade of red at his admission. He sighed, but smiled with it. "The only reason I was able to perform it for you now is because... because I'm worried about you, Lusha."

Allucia turned even redder. She didn't know what to say, and stared at the ground, crossing her arms over her stomach.

Ryoga continued. "Now it's your turn... I think this might be a good alternative to punching inanimate objects. It's easier on the body. The worst that happens is that you pass out from expending so much energy."

"But I've never tried anything like this before," Allucia said quietly. "You think I'll be able to do it?" Putting a finger under her chin, he gently lifted her head, and with it, her gaze from the forest floor to meet his for a moment; then, feeling awkward and shy, started to stare at the ground again.

Ryoga nodded slowly, then gestured at the rock. "Just... focus all your unhappiness and anger... imagine it as energy. Then force that energy into your hands... then out of your body."

Allucia nodded back, then turned towards the boulder, closing her eyes, already feeling her heart growing heavy. She had plenty of unhappiness and anger to spare, more than enough. She thought about what she did to Harry; it was her fault, her mistake. Then her thoughts suddenly turned to the Klaamox. The ensign inhaled sharply as the memories made themselves clear.

She did as Ryoga told her; imagining her feelings as energy. Immediately, she began to tingle all over. She did her best to focus the energy into her hands; with some effort, she was able to. Her hands suddenly felt very, very cold; almost numb.

Ryoga stared at Allucia in awe, as a soft blue aura began to surround her. He'd never taught the Shi Chi Hokodan to anyone before... but to his knowledge, Allucia didn't have any ki ability whatsoever... but here she was, generating a battle aura. Keeping silent, he backed up a few steps.

Closing her eyes tightly, Allucia willed the sensation out of her hands, emitting a strangled shriek. A cumbersome ball of blue-white energy shot from them, veering towards the rock, impacting the top edge of it with a small explosion.

Allucia opened her eyes to see a rather large chunk taken out of the rock, then swayed. "I did it..." she said weakly, half-smiling. Ryoga blinked out of sight; then immediately appeared next to her as she fell unconscious into his arms.

He sank to the ground, cradling Allucia in his arms. _You're a quick learner, Lush-san... _Ryoga thought. He frowned. But there was more to that blast than just worry for her friend. He unconsciously clutched her closer to him, thinking of the night before as well. _But what else are you hiding? I can see it in your eyes..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**L**ater that day, Allucia and Ryoga managed to wander back to town without incident. Allucia stopped by Tom's hotel room, to let him know she was all right. Ryoga said he was going to meditate in the park until they got back together later than evening. At least when he put his mind to meditating, he could stay put.

Tom opened the door. "Lush!" he said, a bit startled. "Come in!"

"Hi Tom. Just wanted to thank you for letting me have some time alone."

Tom smiled. "It's no problem... except that the Captain can be pretty maternal at times. Only had to convince her that a nineteen-year-old can take care of herself." Tom noticed Allucia was actually grinning broadly; usually she only displayed happiness with her demure half-smile. He glanced at her askance for a moment. "Okay, spill it. Who is he?"

Allucia was taken aback for a moment. "Uh, who's who?" Her entire face quickly turned bright red.

"Don't play coy with me, Lush. You're blushing." Tom stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He clapped a hand on Allucia's shoulder. "Let's take a walk, shall we, kid?"

Allucia shook her head, trying to get rid of deja vu cobwebs. "And what if I don't want to tell you?" she asked, though she knew what the answer would be, to an extent. She was sensing evil big-brother-gonna-torture-the-little-sister vibes from Tom.

"Then I'll... _tickle you!"_ Tom said, attacking from behind, tickling her sides where she was most ticklish.

_"Ack! _ Okay, okay, I give! _Uncle!" _ The tickling promptly stopped. "...Dork." By this time the two were outside and walking down the street.

Tom looked at Allucia, waiting for her to talk. "You're a pain, you know that?" All he could do was grin, and she sighed. "Okay. You know I've been hanging out with some Yamatoans my own age." She smiled. "Well... I met this really nice boy named Ryoga, and basically, we just hit it right off the bat."

"What about Harry?" Tom asked. "Not that I'm not happy for you, of course."

Allucia's shoulders sagged. "I haven't forgotten him. How could I?" she said. "I liked Harry... a little." Tom snorted. "Okay, _very_ little... but truth be told, he's not exactly my type. Of course, he had to find that out the hard way."

Tom shook his head and shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't think you two were right for each other, either." He grinned impishly. "I tried to warn him but he wouldn't listen to me. You're a bit too much for him. He always goes after the unattainable women."

"Unattainable, am I?" Allucia said, elbowing Tom in the side. "What about Ryoga? I spent the entire night with him, and he survived!"

Tom's grin turned evil. "So? I survive sleeping with a half-Klingon woman."

Allucia punched Tom in the shoulder. "I didn't mean it like _that!"_ she cried. "Though... he has the sexiest smile. I never knew fangs could look so good on a guy..."

Tom rubbed his stinging arm, raised an eyebrow, and decided not to comment on _that_. "Whaddaya say we go visit Harry, hmmm?" he said, intentionally changing the subject. "I have a staff meeting to attend as well." Allucia nodded, then Tom tapped his combadge. "Paris to _Voyager_. Two to beam up."

Upon having their molecules reassembled, the two left the transporter room, heading for the turbolift. "So, how about lunch after my meeting?" Tom asked as the turbolift doors closed. "Bridge."

"Sure," Allucia replied. "Meet me in Sickbay. Deck Five."

"Will do."

* * *

"Which means, we're going to be here a while, four months at least. I've decided that the time will be well worth it. I'll continue to rotate shore leaves, it's sorely needed by everyone. Any questions?" She quickly glanced around the room. "If not, dismissed."

Tom left the conference room, and after a quick chat with Kathryn then left for Sickbay while his mind formulated more shore leave plans for him and B'Elanna.

When he arrived in Sickbay, he found Allucia sitting on a stool next to Harry's biobed. Her eyes were closed, and she was sitting perfectly still; not in any way acknowledging that someone had entered the room.

The Doctor, who had been in his office, came to stand next to Tom. "She's been like that ever since she sat down," he said quietly. "She hasn't acknowledged my presence, nor yours, apparently. I decided to let her be, since she's been quiet and actually let me heal her scabbed knuckles without a fight."

"I can hear you perfectly fine, Doctor," Allucia said, not opening her eyes. "I was merely meditating." She smiled. "Hi Tom." She opened her eyes and stood up. "Harry's going to wake up tomorrow night," she said. The pilot and the hologram simultaneously facefaulted.

"Miss Banks--" the Doc began incredulously.

Allucia held up her hand. "It's okay, Doc. Harry told me so."

"How--" Tom began.

"I don't know how, I just know." She cocked her head, thinking. "You know, it could have been his subconscious speaking, though; I wonder if he'll remember..."

Tom and the Doctor looked at each other. The latter, unable to quell his curiosity, retrieved a tricorder and scanned Allucia's cranium with it. "It appears that your fledging telepathic abilities have grown slightly stronger, your brainwave activity has increased exponentially from the last time I scanned you while using your telepathy. Although I can't understand why..." He began fiddling with the instrument, refusing to believe it was calibrated incorrectly, since he was a hologram and therefore perfect. But he could always move on to more precise instruments...

_ Uh oh,_ Tom thought. _I'd better bail her out._ "Lush, it's time for lunch. Ready?" he said, saving her from quality time in Sickbay.

Allucia, whose eyes were growing slightly wider as she realized what the hologram was planning, sighed in relief. "Ready as ever. See you later, Doc." The two quickly left Sickbay; the holographic doctor stood there, mouth open, medical scanner poised. _How did those two manage to do that all the time?_ his subroutines wondered.

* * *

A few minutes later the two sat down in the Nekohanten. The girl with the purple hair that Allucia had met a few nights ago, took their order and quickly returned with two steaming bowls of ramen, which she politely placed on the table. Only some of the regulars were used to catching them.

A few minutes after that, a loud voice permeated the relative calm of the restaurant.

"_Wai! _I'm so _happy_! I-haven't-been-to-the-Nekohanten in _ages!_ _Lucky!" _ The voice, which spoke very fast, belonged to another teenager who had hair in two long pigtails which originated from two balls of blond hair on her head.

_ "Usagi!"_ chorused four other voices. _"__Calm down!"_

The hyper girl turned to face her friends and grinned sheepishly. "Gomen nasai..."

Shampoo approached them, hands on hips. "Shampoo say if Odango-atama girl not keep loud mouth shut, Shampoo kick out of Nekohanten!" The girls standing behind Usagi collectively sweatdropped. They knew what was coming, and sighed.

_ "Odango-atama?!_ Who are you calling a odango-atama, you meron-atama!" Usagi screeched.

"Aiyah! You no can call Shampoo melon head! Shampoo give you Kiss of Death!"

As the squabble began to escalate into an all-out screaming match where Usagi's frantic flailing managed to fend off the Amazon's attempts to mark her for death, Cologne came hopping out on her stick. She came up behind Shampoo and whacked her over the head with it, managing to stay in mid-air as she did so, yelling at her.

As Usagi began to gloat about Shampoo getting in trouble, she got hit over the head as well. Usagi's companions stood nearby with tired expressions on their faces, as if this kind of situation was nothing new to them. _"Hey! _ What'd you do _that_ for?!" Usagi squawked.

"If you had not provoked my great grand-daughter, she would not have started to fight with you!" Cologne croaked.

_ "Me_ start a fight with _her?!_ _She_ started--_Itte!"_ Cologne had hit her over the head again.

Allucia and Tom, not being used to this, quietly paid the cashier, trying to ignore the fact it was a duck wearing thick-rimmed glasses, and nervously left.

Back outdoors, they struck up conversation again. "Anyway, Lush, there's a reason I invited you to lunch." Allucia raised her eyebrow at Tom. Taking this as a cue to continue, he did so. "Looks like you're going to be seeing a lot of your new boy toy," he started. "Yamato's government has offered _Voyager _an overhaul. We're probably going to be here for the next few months."

Allucia's eyes widened. She'd been fighting with herself not to get too attached to the Hibiki boy, but now that she was staying longer, she didn't know what to think. On the one hand, she'd be able to spend more time with him. On the other...well, she decided she wasn't going to think about it now. She grinned.

Tom clapped her on the shoulder. "I knew you'd be happy," he said, grinning. "Now, I have some stuff to take care of on the ship. See you later?"

"Definitely." She hugged the elder pilot and parted ways.

* * *

A few minutes later Allucia ran to the Tendo home, kicking her boots off in the foyer and nearly tripping over her own feet. He wasn't in the park, so the ensign was hoping he was here. She couldn't wait to tell Ryoga the good news.

She burst into the kitchen. "Hi Kasumi! Is Ryoga here?"

"Hello, Allucia-chan," Kasumi said, smiling serenely. "He's out by the pond with Ranma, sparring. Do be careful, please."

"I will!" Allucia called on her way out the back door. "Thanks!"

True to her word, the boys were going at it, jumping and countering and flipping of the rocks surrounding the koi pond.

Just as Allucia went down the steps of the back porch, the two boys leapt into the air. They exchanged a couple of kicks and punches before Ryoga gained the upper hand and knocked Ranma into the water. He landed with a big splash, sending a wave directly at Allucia. Ryoga meanwhile landed safely on a high rock.

The water calmed. Two sets of growls could be heard. One, from a small, black drenched cabbit standing in a now-empty Starfleet uniform. The other came from a busty red-headed girl wading out of the pond. Then the two looked at each other and facefaulted.

Ryoga jumped into the air, flipped, and landed on the ground next to Musha-ohki. He picked the cabbit up. "Sorry about that."

Ranma felt a pang of deja vu. "Hey Ryoga... wasn't Lusha just standing there?"

Ryoga nodded. "She paid a visit to Jusenkyo, too." Musha-ohki meowed at Ranma, who visibly cringed. Ryoga looked at the cabbit. "Yep, Ranma fell in a spring too, Musha." He put the cabbit down, and she ran into the house, dragging her uniform in her mouth. Ranma climbed out of the pond, taking off her shirt and wringing it out.

"Ryo-kun!" Allucia called a few minutes later, leaping off the porch for a second time and running towards him, then stopping ten feet short of the pond for safety. Ranma-chan and Ryoga had resumed their sparring.

"What's up, Lush-chan?" he said as he and Ranma simultaneously leapt off rocks to attack each other.

"Your planet's incredibly wonderfully generous government has offered _Voyager_ an overhaul!" Ranma and Ryoga began exchanging kicks and punches. "We're going to be here for another _four months!"_ Ryoga knocked Ranma into the water again, using her back as leverage to flip and land in front of Allucia.

He wasted no time in putting his hands around her waist and swung her around effortlessly, then lowered her into his arms for a hug. "I... uh... don't know what to say..."

"Say nothing," Allucia murmured. Her heart pounding, she bestowed a light, lingering kiss on Ryoga's lips.

"Mmmmm... .okay."

"Ara ara!" Kasumi interrupted.

Suddenly aware of the outside world again, the two instantly broke apart, and turned bright shades of red. Ranma snickered. Allucia again wondered how Ryoga made her so incredibly stupid in public...

Kasumi blushed, and smiled. "Allucia, there is a communiqué from your ship, from a Tom Paris. He says you neglected to bring along your combadge, and would like to speak to you."

Allucia made a show of patting her clothing. "Gee, must of left it in my other uniform," she grinned, knowing full well that Tom had to have beamed it out of the forest. "Thanks Kasumi." Allucia went inside and down the hall, and sat down at the Tendo's communications console. "Hi, Tom!'

_ "Forget something?"_ Tom asked, holding up a small gold and silver object and silently noting that she was still genuinely smiling.

"Oops. I really did think I had it on me..."

_ "Uh huh. I'm having it beamed down. If the Captain knew you were without it--"_

"She'd lecture me and tell me to get back to shore leave. Uh huh." She tapped a few buttons, sending Tom coordinates. A moment later, her combadge shimmered into being. She hastily slapped it on.

_ "One more thing, Lush."_

"Yeah?"

_ "You have it on upside down."_

Allucia looked at the badge. True enough, it was upside down. She tore it off and slapped it back on again right-side up, and made a face as if to say she would have noticed eventually.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**T**wo weeks later, Seven was doing routine scans in Astrometrics when she noticed an anomalous reading. Even though she had been granted shore leave, she found a certain pleasure in scanning the space around them. Upon further investigation, she found that two small spheres were heading towards Yamato at an unusually high velocity for such a small craft. She tapped her combadge. "Seven of Nine to Tuvok. I require your assistance in Astrometrics."

_ "Tuvok here. I shall be there shortly."_

A few minutes later, the Vulcan walked into Astrometrics. Seven showed him the readings she found. He looked over them, an eyebrow raising. "We'd better contact the Captain," he said, and tapped his combadge. "Commander Tuvok to Captain Janeway."

It was a moment before she answered, and when she did, laughter could be heard; the Vulcan recognized the other laugh as belonging to Chakotay. "_Janeway here. What is it, Tuvok?"_

The commander raised an eyebrow and looked at Seven, who matched his upraised eyebrow with one of her own, with a hint of a small smile. "Seven has found something unusual in her routine scans of this sector. Can you come to Astrometrics at your earliest convenience?"

Kathryn's tone turned serious. "_I'll be up shortly. Janeway out." _She closed the channel. A few minutes later, she entered Astrometrics wearing a sundress and sandals.

"Seven has discovered two spheres heading towards Yamato. Each holds one humanoid lifesign. They are too far away yet to determine what their species is. I have plotted their trajectory. They will arrive at this planet in approximately three months."

"Hmmm... hail them."

Seven pressed some controls. "I have already attempted to do so, and have not even received an automated reply."

"Contact Minster Kuno." Kathryn said. "He should know about this."

* * *

Once the minister had been contacted, he didn't seem too concerned about it. There were so many people not native to Yamato that had made the planet their home that something like this was not unusual, but was impressed by the fact that they had their technology was able to pick it up. Kathryn politely thanked him for his time, and he left.

This news of the space-faring spheres made it to Yamato's planetary media, more out of politeness towards their voyaging guests than anything else. Ryoga caught the news on a nearby televid as everyone relaxed after one of Kasumi's heavenly dinners.

"Saiyajins," he whispered.

"Saiyajins?" Soun and Genma repeated louder and simultaneously, even looking up from their game of Go.

Allucia frowned. "You know who's in those spacecraft?" she asked, watching concern shadow his face. Her statement, combined with the fathers', served to get everyone else's attention. After all, it wasn't often that the lost boy actually knew what was going on.

While questions continued to bounce around the table, Ryoga sat quietly by, his eyes closed, seemingly meditating. Allucia watched him intently, worried. Ryoga sure was worried as hell, so much that it was making her jumpy.

"Who are they?" Akane asked.

"Are they businessmen?" followed Nabiki. "Can we do business?"

When it became obvious Ryoga wasn't going to answer right away, everyone slowly quieted down, Ryoga opened his eyes. "I'm fairly sure I know who they are, and what they want," he said, in an even, measured tone. The din began to rise again, and he held up a hand. "Let me finish!" The group immediately quieted themselves. "They'll want to take the planet in a fight, because they live to fight. What I want to do is get a task force together, and fight them to defend it. And most of Yamato's best fighters are sitting at this very table. But, in your condition now, you would have no chance against them."

"Ryoga, just how do you know all this?" Ranma asked, pouring a heated kettle of water over his head. "And who says we don't have a chance?"

"The very same thing happened to a planet far, far away from here once. My adopted grandfather told me the story many times..." He scratched his head. "I forget what the planet was called." Ryoga sighed. "I hate it, but I'm actually one of them."

"You're one of _them?!"_ Akane cried.

"They sent me here as a baby, because when I was a kid I would easily be able to take this place down. But somehow I ended up with amnesia, and was brought up by a kindly old man named Gohan, who was part Saiyajin. When he died, I was adopted by the Hibikis. Anyway, Gohan told me the same thing had happened to his father, hundreds of years ago on a planet on the other side of the galaxy."

Allucia's brow creased. _Other side of the galaxy? Isn't Earth on the other..._

Ryoga closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "One of them killed him," he said, making Allucia lose her train of thought. _And I'll make them pay..._

* * *

Allucia and Ryoga left the house some time later, arguing. Occasionally she would have to grab him by the arm to prevent him from making a wrong turn, but he allowed it, grateful for the guidance despite the fact that they were yelling at each other. They were on their way to the Nekohanten, to speak to Shampoo and Mousse.

It had been decided at the Tendos who would be on the task force, dubbed the Yamato Special Forces. Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Mousse, and Ryoga himself were to be part of the team. Ryoga had also wanted to include another girl named Ukyo, but after Ranma and Akane's failed wedding, she had disappeared from Nerima, and still hadn't returned.

"Why the hell not?!" Allucia asked for the third time. "I'm a martial artist, too!"

"So?!" Ryoga retorted. "You've only been practicing, what is it, T'Lok, for only a year! Everyone else grew up with their art from the time they could walk!"

_ "I don't care."_

Ryoga sighed. He took both of Allucia's hands, clasping them in his own, and looked straight into her eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt, because then it would be my fault. If something happened to you, I'd _never_ forgive myself."

Allucia gazed back into Ryoga's eyes, and took a deep breath. "R-R-Ryoga... I have to... because... 'cause... I can't let you get hurt either, I'd never forgive myself." She sighed, trying to calm her shaking voice. "I... I love you, Ryoga. And I'll fight by your side even if it gets me killed." _It's not like I have anything else to live for..._

Ryoga was silent, shocked into it. He couldn't believe if he had heard correctly. He was used to loving from a distance, has he did with Akane. He would never have never expected Allucia to return his feelings. Sure, they had been hanging around each other a lot, but still...

Allucia's heart was pounding so hard she thought it'd burst out of her chest. She now recognized the feelings she had sensed from Ryoga a few nights ago in the forest; the same feeling was now washing over her when she blurted out those three little words without thinking. Was this what love was?

She looked at Ryoga. His silence was beginning to make her nervous. She was so overwhelmed by her own emotions, she couldn't clear her mind enough to sense what he was feeling. She spoke in a whisper. "Please... say something."

Ryoga tightened his grip on her hands. "Allucia... I--"

_**Splash.**_

Piglet and cabbit stared at each other. Both heard footsteps echoing in the distance. P-chan frowned. Musha-ohki's eyes began to water. P-chan kweeed softly. Resigned, the two animals walked off into the darkness.

A young girl with brown hair with pink streaks in it ran off into the darkness. She wasn't going to let _anyone_, much less an _offworlder_, take Ryoga away from her. That was the second time in three weeks she had to douse the two of them. And the fact that the alien was cursed was an added bonus. Akari chortled softly. _Ryo-kun is mine._

The two cursed ones decided it would be best to return to the Tendos'. Musha-ohki had pulled her combadge off her uniform and was carrying it in her mouth, having to suppress an unnatural urge to eat it.

After a few minutes, her badge chirped. She jumped a bit, startled. Then she dropped the badge on the ground, tapped it with one paw, and miyahed into it.

_ "Lush?"_ came Tom's voice. "_Good God, you can't stay out of trouble, can you?!"_

"Miyah! Miyah, miyah!"

_ "Uh huh. Whatever you say. I'll have you beamed up. Paris out."_

* * *

Tom sighed. Allucia turning into a cabbit was starting to become a regular thing. He tapped his combadge. "Paris to Transporter Room 3. Lock onto Ensign Banks' combadge and beam any lifesigns up. I'll be there momentarily. Paris out."

During their whole conversation, Tom had been in the turbolift on his way to the transporter room. The doors opened, and he walked down the hall to his destination.

When he arrived, he found two, not one, animals waiting for him. The other animal was a small black piglet with a yellow and black patterned bandanna around his neck.

"Lush?" he asked. Musha-ohki smiled cutely. P-chan grinned nervously as Tom looked at him. "And I suppose you're a boy?" P-chan nodded. Tom exhaled loudly. "C'mon, you two." He took an animal under each arm. The pilot looked at Gerron, who was manning the controls and turning lovely shades of purple. "As you were, Ensign."

He exited the transporter room and brought the two to Allucia's quarters. While she transformed in the bathroom, P-chan and Tom had a staring contest.

Allucia emerged from the bathroom, toweling her hair. She then tossed the towel onto P-chan, and the towel scurried into the bathroom. "I replicated you some clothes," she told him. "They're in there." The towel emitted a muffled kwee in reply.

Tom sat on the couch while Allucia brushed her hair. "So, is that him?" Tom asked.

Allucia's broad grin was all the answer Tom needed. "How didja know?"

"Who else would a teenage girl be with in the middle of the night?"

"I dunnooo," she replied with a shrug, a blush beginning to creep into her face.

Tom decided get cocky. "Awww...lil' Lush Banks has a boyfriend...she's growing up..." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Allucia threw her hairbrush at him, which he barely managed to deflect, laughing.

Ryoga exited the bathroom a few moments later. "Hey Lush-chan, thanks."

Tom stood up. "No problem. Tom Paris, this is Ryoga Hibiki. Ryoga, Tom. He flies this clunker when I'm not." The two shook hands.

"More like _you _fly the ship when _I'm_ not... and calling my ship a clunker... the nerve. Anyway, there was a reason I called you up here. Harry just woke up a few minutes ago...just like you said he would."

Allucia nodded. "Go ahead to Sickbay. I'll meet you there in a few minutes." Tom nodded, glanced at the two teens, then left the room. She turned to Ryoga. "I... uh... that is... ummmmm..."

Ryoga turned away, his shoulders trembling slightly. "I understand... now that your other boyfriend's awake now, you won't be needing me anymore. Good bye, Allucia. Thanks for a few happy days. Really." Ryoga walked out of the room.

The young woman stood there, rooted to the floor in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She just confessed her feelings to him, and he does _this?!_ Getting herself together, she tore out of her room. Ryoga was no where in sight. "Computer, location of the lifesign that just exited my quarters!"

"The specified lifesign is in the Mess Hall."

_ Figures._ Allucia jogged down the hall to the turbolift. "Deck Two." When the doors opened, Ryoga was standing there, looking lost. Allucia grabbed him by his collar and dragged him into the turbolift.

"Uhh...Deck...F-four?" Ryoga squeaked out as the lift doors closed.

_ "Halt turbolift." _Allucia said through gritted teeth.

Allucia glared at Ryoga, with her arm resting uncomfortably against his windpipe with him uncomfortably leaning against the wall. Ryoga was actually surprised by her strength, and was suddenly reminded of the tales his adoptive grandfather had told him about his own mother. "How _dare_ you assume I would just _drop_ you like that." She held his gaze for a moment longer, then abruptly broke off. Feeling her temper flare, she retreated to the other side of the turbolift, crossing her arms. "In case you couldn't _tell_, I meant what I said earlier. I honestly did." She sighed. "What made you assume I would go back to... to... him when I love you?" she whispered.

The martial artist looked at the floor. "Well, uh, that is what usually happens with girls who I think like me. They always find someone else. Akane has Ranma, and this other girl only loves me because I turn into a pig."

"Ryoga..." Allucia trailed off, unable to finish. She had to get her temper under control first. Right now she was ready to punch something. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. She was up to number ten when she felt a warm hand take hers. She opened her eyes and looked at Ryoga, who looked totally calm.

"Lusha...well...I'm sorry. I just thought--"

Allucia's eyes flashed. "Thought I was a two-timing slut?!"

"Two-timing...what?" Ryoga wore a completely innocent expression. Obviously the last word wasn't translating. He had meant to say it was his own horrible, luck, but Allucia didn't respond. She lost the hold she had on her temper. She pulled back her arm, aimed...

...and her fist flew into empty space.

She heard someone clear their throat behind her. Eyes wide, she slowly turned her head, then her shoulders.

Ryoga was standing behind her.

"How--how did--how--" she stammered. Her grimace returned. "I won't miss this time..."

Ryoga didn't want to play tag in the turbolift. He had to calm her down before she damaged something. So he did the only thing he could do. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her in close for a passionate kiss.

Allucia, for her part was caught off-guard, but quickly melted into Ryoga's embrace, returning the kiss.

The two didn't even notice the turbolift doors opening. They did, however, hear someone speaking. "Ensign Banks?"

Ryoga and Allucia immediately broke apart, each slamming into an opposite wall from each other. Allucia turned to the speaker, and turned bright red as well. "Uh, hi, Seven. Ah...enjoying your shore leave?"

Seven raised an eyebrow. "Shore leave is irrelevant. I must continue to gather information on the space pods on their way to Yamato." The blond woman had a good reason for alerting her captain to the presence of the space pods. While they were still far off, she was still able to gather enough information to ascertain who they were. What she didn't want to tell the teenagers was that every time a Borg ship met up with one of them, it was destroyed.

Allucia glanced at Ryoga, wondering if he would say anything about what he had spoken of earlier. Instead, Ryoga was staring at Seven; eyes dilated and a bead of drool gathering dangling from one corner of his mouth. Or more specifically, this behavior was the result of Seven's chest.

Allucia's eyes narrowed to slits, and a growl rumbled in her throat. Her face flushed in anger, and her mouth thinned into a crooked line.

Seven turned to Ryoga, whose nose had begun to bleed. "Perhaps you should go to Sickbay. Your nose is bleeding, are you aware of that?"

Ryoga continued to stare, even making Seven uncomfortable. Allucia got sick of this, and slapped the Saiyajin across the face.

The slap echoed out of the turbolift and down the hall. Ryoga snapped out of his trance. Allucia grabbed him by his collar again and yanked him across the turbolift to make room for Seven.

Ryoga took off his bandanna, but had another one on beneath, mysteriously enough. He put the one he had taken off to his nose.

"Deck Five," Allucia said, glaring at Ryoga again. Ryoga had his eyes closed and his head lowered.

"Deck Eight," Seven said, as though nothing had happened.

* * *

"It's okay, Lusha. I deserved it anyway." Harry looked at Tom. "And that is the last time I go to _you_ for any type of medical help."

Tom held up his hands in self-defense. "Hey, you came to me 'cause you didn't want to go to the Doc."

"All set," the Doc said, switching of the appliance he had been using on Ryoga. "You're free to go."

"Thanks...I'll see you tomorrow, Lush-chan. Konninchwa." Ryoga waved and exited Sickbay.

"'Night Ryoga." she automatically replied, forgetting he might not be able to find his way off the ship.

Tom looked from Harry to Allucia to the Doc. "I think it's time for me to hit the sack. 'Night everyone... or morning..." Tom chuckled as he left.

Allucia and Harry looked at the Doctor. He stared at them for a moment before replying. "Oh, very well. Just _please_ quit injuring your friends' noses, Allucia. Computer, deactivate EMH program." He shimmered out of being.

The younger ensign resumed pacing. "Harry--"

Simultaneously, "Lusha--"

The two of them broke off, chuckling uncomfortably. "You first," Allucia said.

Harry shrugged, then spoke. "About the other night... I didn't mean what I said. I kinda, well, just blurted it out, not thinking..."

"That much is obvious." she snapped.

"Forgive me?"

"You're forgiven."

"It sure doesn't sound like it."

Allucia shrugged. "Is there anything else? I've been up since 0500 yesterday and I'm exhausted." She glanced at the chronometer. It read 0147.

"Do you want to pick up where we left off?"

Allucia gaped at Harry. "You have a _serious_ ego problem do you know that? Of all the presumptuous egotistical...oh, forget it. I should have punched you harder...and I _was_ pulling my punch that night, by the way. Good night, Ensign." She stalked out of the room.

Harry gaped after her, his mind completely blank. _What did I say wrong?_

Allucia was so enraged when she left Sickbay she didn't notice that she stormed right past Tom, who was nonchalantly leaning against the wall right outside Sickbay, his arms crossed. In one graceful motion, he straightened and walked into the medical room, pulling down his tunic.

Harry was still sitting there, looking downcast. "You had to ask, didn't you?"

He didn't respond, just stared at Tom.

The pilot clapped his friend on the shoulder. "You, my friend, still have a lot to learn about women. _Listen _to me when I tell you not to go after the unattainable ones, okay? _Especially_ if they are violent tomboys."

Allucia had calmed down somewhat by the time she reached her quarters. She was cursing a mile a minute in her head, in all the languages she knew slander in. She changed into her favorite pajamas, flannels and a tank top, and attempted to sleep, thinking about how much she wanted Ryoga next to her...little did she know he was only a few decks away, trying to find his way to the transporter room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**_"W_**_hy the hell __**not**__?!"_

** "****_We already talked about this! I am not telling you again!"_**

_**Splash!**_

The regular antics were going on at the Tendo home. Well, meaning that the neighbors were used to any yelling, screaming, explosions, and splashes that came from the Tendo residence, regardless of who it came from and whether or not they actually lived there. Then again, said neighbors had learned to put up forcefields around their property shortly after the Saotomes had moved in.

P-chan swam to the edge of the pond, and heaved himself out, giving Allucia a dirty look. In her hand, she held the only available hot water kettle in the house. "Now, are you going to let me join Yamato's Special Forces, or not?"

The piglet closed his eyes and sighed. He had a feeling he was going to lose this battle, very soon. So he did the only thing he could for the time being. He jumped back into the water, making a big enough splash to activate Allucia's curse.

The cabbit stood there, water evaporating off her in the form of steam. As the kettle flew into the air, P-chan caught it with his snout, burning himself in the process, but at least tipping the water onto him. His image seemed to shimmer and a few seconds later he was crouching in such a way he was _not_ displaying his male goods for all to see.

As he got dressed, Ryoga looked at the Musha-ohki, who looked like she was fighting off a nosebleed. "Nope, I won't." The cabbit stared back for a moment; then her eyes grew large, filling with tears. Her jaw trembled, and the tears began to spill. "Hmmmm...pretty good...I'm not buying it."

_ Ain't buying it, huh? Well buy __**this**__! _Musha-ohki marched over (as much as cabbits could march, anyway) and clamped her jaws onto Ryoga's bare ankle.

The response was immediate. Ryoga flew up ten feet, landed on one foot, then began hopping around, shaking his other leg at about the same speed as Ranma's Katsu Tenchin Amiguriken. "Get off! Get-off-get-off-_get-off! Aaaaahhhhhhh!"_

_**Splash!**_

Musha-ohki jumped out of the pond, shook most of the water off, and proceeded to groom herself while P-chan flailed nearby, kweeing.

Akane exited the house, hearing the commotion. "Oh geez, Ryoga! You fell in the pond again, didn't you?" She waded in and picked him up. "And you, Musha, should have helped him out."

Musha-ohki stuck her tongue out at Akane, as she knew that Ryoga could swim perfectly well as a pig, but nonetheless followed her friend into the house. Akane went put another kettle on for Musha-ohki and P-chan. The two animals had a staring contest.

An hour later, P-chan passed out. Soon after the piglet fell over, Musha-ohki blinked a few times, and fell over as well.

When the two had regained consciousness and transferred back to their human forms, Allucia and Ryoga were outside arguing again. The residents of the house sat quietly by, watching with slightly bored expressions yet slightly awed by the fact that it wasn't Ranma and Akane out there.

"You know," Nabiki said. "They bicker like Ranma and Akane. You'd think they were engaged, too."

Ranma and Akane promptly flushed deep shades of red and made it a point to look away from each other.

_ "Fine!" _Ryoga shouted. "I'll allow you to join the Special Forces." _If I don't, I'll be arguing with you about it until they get here..._

Allucia smiled sweetly, all traces of Oni-Allucia gone. "Thank you, Ryo-kun!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. Ryoga hung his head and sweatdropped; then returned the hug with a smile.

* * *

Ryoga's training for Yamato's Special Forces began the next day. He, Allucia, Ranma, Akane, Mousse, Shampoo, and Kuno all boarded a shuttlecraft, courtesy of the Kuno family, and flew to an island about a two hour's flight away as to avoid any collateral damage that may result from their training. Tatewaki Kuno was there at the insistence of the Prime Minister. Once he'd been informed of Ryoga's plans, he immediately wanted to have his son to take part in saving the planet (assuming it needed saving – the minister still wasn't convinced the occupants of the pods were a threat). Ranma was a bit leery of receiving training from the same guy who couldn't even _defeat_ him, but was curious to know if his friend had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Allucia manned the controls, being that she was the only pilot and navigator, and that no one trusted Ryoga to navigate anything whatsoever. She adapted to the unfamiliar controls rather quickly.

"Most well done, Lady Allucia. I must commend you on your piloting skills."

"Uh...thanks, Kuno." The shuttle landed with a soft thump. "Okay, everybody out. Don't forget where we parked!"

Ryoga organized everyone into sparring groups, to warm up. Allucia stood by grinning, awaiting this chance to test her abilities and perhaps beat somebody up. Well, not too badly.

Of course, being a prankster, Ryoga had to match everyone who they fought with all the time as a warm up. Ranma and Akane, Shampoo and Mousse. However, this left Kuno without a sparring partner.

"Why is my pig-tailed goddess not here? Surely, with her prowess she would be vital to this mission!"

Ryoga wisely decided to ignore the comment. "Kuno, you spar with Allucia."

Allucia grinned. Akane had told Allucia all about Kuno not being able to differentiate between girl and boy-type Ranma. Allucia was also busy plaiting her hair back so it wouldn't get in her way.

"This close enough for ya?" Allucia said, twirling to reveal her newly-grown pigtail. Ryoga had happened to mention that he liked long hair and how terrible he'd felt when he accidentally chopped Akane's off a few years back...and on a whim, she had decided to regrow it a second time. Unlike Ranma's however, hers was down to her waist.

Kuno was stunned speechless.

"Another...pigtailed...goddess...osage...no...onna..."" He went to glomp onto her, but Allucia's fist in his stomach prevented him from doing so.

She turned to Ryoga. "Don't worry, Ryo-kun, I can take care of myself."

Ryoga grinned. "I know."

Allucia and Kuno slowly began circling each other. He was without his bokken, as no weapons of such a nature were allowed.

"I do not believe I am capable of hitting such a beautiful entity," Kuno said.

Allucia laughed. "Oh yeah? Well, I am." She opened up with a quick roundhouse kick to his stomach.

"Oof!" Kuno flew back, and skidded onto the grass.

Allucia stood where she had landed, looking bored. "Still afraid to hit a girl?"

"But of course not, dear woman, if it means I shall receive the privilege to date you! Prepare to feel the wrath of the Blue Thunder of Nerima Community College!" Kuno charged. Allucia jumped up, and vaulted over him; she landed on her hands, and using the ground as leverage, flew into the air again, her feet making contact with Kuno's back, and sending him flying back into the grass on his face.

Kuno stood up, spitting out grass, and trembling with rage. "You are no goddess...you are a demoness!" He charged again.

"Calling me a demon?! OOO-ooo-_ooo-__**ooo**_, you gonna pay for that one, buddy!" Allucia yelled back. She charged.

As Kuno flew towards her, fist outstretched, Allucia jumped into the air again, and after dodging his fist, planted her bare foot on his face, flipping backwards immediately after contact.

The kendoist fell to the ground and didn't get back up. He was still breathing, though. Allucia brushed imaginary dust off her gi. "Well, _that_ was easy," she sighed. "Ryoga!" Allucia called. Where was he? "I took Kuno out, now what?"

She saw a quick flash of gold and black; then was answered with a tackle from behind.

* * *

Later that evening, Allucia threw the kettle across the kitchen. "I can't believe it! That's _fourth_ time it happened!" She ran outside and began pacing.

Ryoga cast a glance at Kasumi and Akane, who were cleaning the dinner dishes from the dinner Ryoga and Allucia missed because of an impromptu cold shower during an affectionate moment before arriving at the Tendo Dojo. They had just recently entered the home and did the hot water routine.

It was the end of their third week of training. Allucia had been becoming antsy every once in a while, trying to keep up with everyone else. Her physical strength was increasing in leaps and bounds, she was now stronger than the average human. But everyone else was still better than her. "Lush-chan..." Ryoga began.

"Ryoga, you agree, don't you? You know what? I bet it's Harry. I wish he would just _leave me alone!"_ She clenched her hands tightly, as there was nothing around to punch.

Allucia was making her fifth lap around Ryoga when he grabbed her by the wrist, an impish grin on his face. "I don't see what you think is so damn funny, mister." she hissed, but making no attempt to remove herself from Ryoga's grasp. The one fang he displayed with his smile was making her brain stall.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you're angry." Allucia gaped at Ryoga for a moment, then chuckled nervously as she shrugged. Then as though a switch was flipped, Oni-Allucia returned. "I ain't gonna take it anymore! When I find out who this person who is trying to keep us apart or annoy us or whatever not only will I kill them, but--" she faltered.

"But what?" Ryoga asked, trying to keep from grinning.

"I'll... I'll... uh... I'll... ummm..."

Ryoga gave in and grinned broadly. "You'll...tickle them?!" he said, as he began to tickle Allucia.

She shrieked, and allowed her body to go limp, hoping she would just fall to the ground and therefore ward off the attack. However, this gave Ryoga the opportunity to catch her and putting an arm around her, resumed tickling her as she began to kick, scream, and laugh. "Lemme go lemme go you gonna be sorry gonna make you sorry..." she babbled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Allucia said, as Ryoga received an elbow to his gut.

Ryoga laughed. "You know that didn't do any good...yet I still need to retaliate." The Saiyajin slowly lifted into the air, bringing his girlfriend with with him. Allucia didn't notice this until she saw the house roof out of the corner of her eye.

She promptly glomped onto Ryoga, wrapping both her arms and legs around him.. "What the _hell_ you doing?!" she half-shrieked.

"What it look like? I'm flying." He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, concentrating on decreasing the pressure in his nose with Allucia clinging to him the way she was. Fortunately, his desire not to drop the girl in his arms was enough to override what his nose and other areas of his body wanted to do.

"But how?!" Allucia gaze was fixated on the ground below. "And if you decided to be a smart-ass and drop us in the pond, so help me _God_ I'll beat you into salsa!"

Ryoga laughed. "Really simple. Anyone powerful enough can do it." Feeling a little safer, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he put his arms around her waist. "You're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"No, just caught off guard. And I _am_ afraid of falling..." Allucia decided to look down and at the ground. "Yes, yes, I am afraid of heights!" Her arms tightened around his neck.

"Kinda funny for a pilot to be afraid of heights. I would _never_ drop you. Now, would you like to go for a little flight?"

"That's different! I'm in space! You can't fall in space! ...Please don't get us lost!"

Ryoga looked hurt. "Well, if we do, we would get back faster by air..." Allucia giggled nervously, and nodded. As Ryoga flew higher into the air; her grip tightened even more. "I told you I wouldn't drop you," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry...just a reflex."

As Ryoga flew through the air resumed her super grip to him. After a few minutes, Allucia suddenly remembered an old movie her mother used to love where something similar had happened to the characters. She had always loved those old twentieth-century movies. And now here she was, flying with her beloved. Of course, if Ryoga ever wore a red cape and blue underwear outside his pants, Allucia would have to disown him.

They flew for hours, and when they landed, sure enough, they were lost. Allucia's arms were cramped from her death grip, the reason for their landing.

Fortunately for them, Allucia had her combadge on her. However, she didn't want to get un-lost just yet. Ryoga had managed to land them in a pretty nice place, a tropical island which happened to be clear across the continent and off the coast from where Nerima was located. They stayed and watched the sunrise on the island before beaming up to Voyager for breakfast.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**A**fter breakfast, the couple returned to the Tendo home, and Allucia resumed her tirade.

"Ryoga, we have to do something. If I catch this person, I'm gonna, gonna, gonna--uhhhh... douse _them_ in cold water...wait..._after_ I drag them to Jusenkyo and give _them_ a dunk...yeah..._then_...I'll turn into a spaceship...and _**boom**_ they goooo!"

"Lush-chan?"

"Yes, Ryo-kun?"

"You're rambling."

Allucia was silent for a moment, blinking, then giggled. "Oops. Guess I am..."

"Why don't you set a trap," came Nabiki's voice, unbidden to their conversation. Allucia and Ryoga looked at each other. Why hadn't they thought of this before?

"Of course," Nabiki began again, "if you want _my_ help, you'll have to make it worth my while."

Allucia looked at Nabiki for a moment, slightly taken aback. But after thinking for a moment, a grin crossed her face. "What if I got you a book that could help you make more money?" Nabiki reminded the young ensign about a certain species she'd read about in her studies of the 24th century...

The business woman narrowed her eyes, wondering how this spastic tom boy was going to deliver. "Keep talking."

Allucia held up her hand, and tapped her combadge. "Banks to Paris."

_ "Paris here. What's up Lusha?"_

"Can you replicate me item number 1471 of the non-fiction index in the ship's library? I'll pay you back. Then beam it down to my coordinates...and have it in the original Ferengi, and one translated into Yamatoan."

_ "Will do."_

A few minutes later, the whine of a transporter beam was heard. On the Tendos' dining room table materialized two books, silver-pressed. They were small, but it was only the content that mattered.

Allucia picked up the books and held them at arms' length to Nabiki, beaming. "_The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition_--where I come from, they're the most successful capitalists--and these are the rules they go by. Here two copies, one in the original Ferengi, for value, and one translated into your language. I'm sure you know most of this stuff already, but you can also add to them if you like."

Nabiki's eyes grew wide as she accepted the books. "Thank you..." She flipped to the first page. "'The first rule of Acquisition'," she read out loud, "'is once you get their money, never give it back.'" She then turned to a random page. "'Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them.'" She grinned. "These sound like my type of people...okay, consider it taken care of."

Allucia and Ryoga looked at each other, slightly worried.

The next day, Akari hurriedly left town on her sumo-pig, on the news that her farm was about to be repossessed for outstanding pig slop payments.

* * *

Later that day, Akane and Allucia were sparring in the dojo.

"Lusha," Akane said as she kicked at Allucia, "if I told you something, could you keep it a secret?"

Allucia blocked Akane's outstretched foot, and nodded. "Of course, Akane." She swung around in a roundhouse kick, which Akane easily ducked under.

Akane abruptly stopped fighting, and knelt down where she stood. "Promise?"

Allucia knelt in front of Akane; she took a hand and gave it a squeeze. "Of course, I promise. I won't tell a soul. But...um...how do you know Nabiki hasn't bugged the dojo?"

The other young woman smiled sadly. "After our first failed wedding, she promised to leave the dojo be. She owed it to us." Her smiled turned slightly more cheerful. "Kasumi is the only other person that knows...she managed to drag our father and Mister Saotome on her errands today, so we don't have to worry about them walking on us now."

She sighed restlessly, and was obviously very nervous about what she was going to say. "Ranma and I...we're going to elope." Allucia's eyes widened. "With the way my family is...it'd be too hard to do a big wedding...believe me, we've tried. That...and with the Saiyajins coming... if we're going to die, I'd rather die knowing Ranma's my husband." She lifted her eyes from the floor, to look Allucia in the eye. "We want you and Ryoga there as witnesses--and because the both of you are very dear to us." Akane cracked a smile. "Not that Ranma or Ryoga would ever admit it, of course." She paused a moment. "So you will you come?"

Allucia nodded back, a smile spreading across her own face. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of missing it."

Akane sighed loudly in relief and bowed her head in thanks. "Domo arigato...you don't know how much this means to me. We'll be using a training trip as cover--"

They heard the door to the dojo slide open, and froze. "It's only me an' Ryoga," Ranma said as he stepped into the dojo. Ryoga followed, and closed the door behind him. "Didja fill Lusha in?" he asked quietly, him and Ryoga taking seats next to their respective girls.

Akane nodded. "Yes...I was just getting to the part about going on the training trip."

Ranma nodded back, then motioned everyone to huddle together. "Okay here's the plan..."

* * *

The quartet was on their way by the evening. They didn't dare speak a word about their actual intentions until they were five kilometers out of town. In Nerima, not only did the walls have ears, but so did the streets, windows, rooftops, mailboxes...and anything that yelled _**"**_**_Charge!"_**

They were meeting a priest at a pre-determined location in the morning. After traveling for about five hours, they set up camp.

Allucia yawned. "God, I'm so tired. Last time I walked that much, I was standing in line for a Yankees' game..." she trailed off as another yawn overtook her. She plopped down beside Ryoga in front of the fire Ranma had built.

"Yankees?" Ryoga asked.

"What kind of game?" Akane added.

Allucia grinned. "Baseball. The name of the game is scoring runs. You basically hit a ball that is pitched to you--" Allucia held her hands up, cupping them to about the size of a baseball. "And run around bases to score the points. There are four bases, and when you reach the fourth one, that's when you score a point. But if the ball gets to a base before you, or is caught without bouncing, you're out, and can't score a run until the next time you're up at bat."

Ryoga frowned. "That makes absolutely no sense. Running around in circles to score points?"

Akane thought for a moment. "I think we have something similar...except that we have six bases instead of four."

"Yeah, but you can't play either of those with Ryoga!" Ranma joined the group, carrying firewood.

"And why not, Ranma?" Ryoga asked, though he knew what the response would be.

"'Cause you'd get lost runnin' around the bases!"

_ "Ranma!"_ A mallet came out of subspace, but never reached its destination. "Ranma...be nice. Ryoga's your best friend, for goodness sake, _and_ your best man."

Ranma flinched as he saw the mallet approaching. But when he didn't hear the usual _crack_ of the mallet making contact with his skull, he opened one eye cautiously. Seeing no mallet in sight, he opened both eyes again and looked apologetically at Akane. "Gomen, Akane. You're right."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Ryoga!"

Ranma grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Ryoga. I didn't mean nuthin' by it."

Allucia pinched Ryoga's arm. He spoke after a moment. "It's...okay Ranma. I suppose for the sake of the women we can put off fighting for a while—_hey!" _Allucia had smacked him for that one.

The group fell silent. Ranma gently put his arm around Akane. She'd jumped at first, and he froze, afraid of getting hit. But instead, she'd smiled and snuggled into his embrace, eyes closed. Ranma relaxed, gazing at Akane for a moment before gently resting his head against hers.

Allucia watched two, and smiled. No doubt about it, those two were in love. Ryoga smiled as well, and putting his arm around his girl, who also cuddled into his embrace.

Ryoga gazed at the girl in his arms, quietly memorizing her features. He honestly didn't know if they would have another chance to be alone like this... ever again. If the worst should happen with the Saiyajins... Ryoga wanted his dying thought to be remembering Allucia just like this, in this moment. The lost boy closed his eyes and sighed, tightening his arms around the woman in his arms ever so gently, When he reopened his eyes, they were glistening.

_ How did I ever get so lucky? One day... this perfect being just fell into my life... or would it be I into hers?_ Ryoga sighed again, tearing his watery eyes from Allucia.

He looked to Ranma, who he expected to be smirking or stifling laughter at his display of emotion. Their eyes locked. Ranma wore the same exact expression on his face as Ryoga did on his. Ryoga realized in that instant that Ranma was having the same thoughts run through his mind.

Ranma smiled, his cheeks turning a little pink. "Uh...I...I think both Akane and Lusha have fallen asleep," he whispered.

Ryoga looked to Allucia. Sure enough, her breathing had evened out. One look at her closed eyelids told him she was dreaming. And since she wasn't fidgeting or thrashing, it had to be a happy dream for once. "Yeah..." A smile slowly crept across his face. He looked back to Ranma, to find him staring at him.

"You really love her, don't ya Ryoga?" Ranma asked quietly.

Ryoga was surprised at the question, but hid it. "Yeah...as sure as the suns rise... I love her. It happened so fast, I don't even remember. I mean... after I lost Akane to you...I thought it was over. But then Allucia just showed up out no where. She filled the void that losing Akane left in my heart...maybe partly because she's so like Akane. Maybe because I helped her get over some hurt." Ryoga laughed nervously. "That's not to say I only love Lusha because of that...she is still unique in her own ways... I must sound so stupid to you..."

Ranma surprised Ryoga again. "Nah...you're just a guy in love. So am I. Me an' Akane." He gazed at Akane for a moment. "That's why we asked you guys to do this with us. Our families mean well...but they just make it harder, we can't be ourselves around them. An' once I realized you and Lusha had feelings for each other, so much that you stopped showin' up all the time for Akane, I knew it was safe to invite you guys along."

The two friends fell into awkward silence. After a moment, Ranma scratched the back of his head. "I guess, uh, we should get to sleep, huh?"

Ranma nodded, as he stood up, his beloved in his arms. Ryoga stood as well. "Yeah...see you in the morning, Ranma." the Saiyajin said quietly as he made his way towards his and Allucia's tent.

"G'Night Ryoga."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

_By Special Guest Writer, KaraOhki!_

_Reposted with permission. You can read more of her work at karaohki dot anifics dot com!_

**A**s Akane woke, the first of her senses to tell her something was her hearing. There were birds singing--birds she did not normally hear at home. Next it was her nose, the fragrance of the trees telling her that she was deep in the forest. Lastly, she became aware that someone was holding her hand.

Akane opened her eyes, which met Ranma's. He smiled at her, and she smiled back as she realized she would be seeing those eyes every morning for the rest of her life. Her smile slowly faded when she thought of what was ahead, and that the rest of their lives might not be all that long. Her fiancé immediately picked up on her change of expression.

"Akane, you okay?"

Her response was to move closer to him.

"Just hold me."

Outside the tent, Ryoga was building a fire, while Allucia gathered the ingredients for breakfast. Ryoga looked toward Ranma and Akane's tent, and back to Allucia.

"Think we ought to wake them up?"

Allucia shook her head."They're up. I heard Ranma talking."

Shortly afterward, Ranma emerged from the tent. "Akane's changing clothes." He frowned. "She's not too happy about getting married in blue jeans, but we couldn't risk shopping for anything new. Somebody would have told our families."

Allucia's eyes widened. "I can do something about that, Ranma. Give me a couple of minutes." She walked to the edge of the clearing, and sat down. Ryoga could hear her talking into her communicator, but he couldn't hear what was being said. A short time later, Allucia returned with a huge smile on her face. "I've got it covered, Ranma. You'll see."

A voice behind her made her jump.

"You'll see what?"

"Oh! Good morning, Akane! Let's just say I've arranged a little wedding present for you."

* * *

On _Voyager,_ B'Elanna frowned as she peered at the computer screen. "I wish Lusha had given me more information. How am I supposed to do this?"

"Do what?" Tom sat beside B'Elanna, and looked at the screen. "Japanese clothing? What are you looking for?"

"Lusha's friends Ranma and Akane are eloping today. They're out in the woods somewhere with Lusha and Ryoga, and nothing nice to wear. Lusha wants me to replicate something and send it down."

"In that case, you're looking in the wrong place. Computer, show 20th Century wedding clothes, Earth."

_"Working."_

In seconds, B'Elanna had more to choose from than she knew what to do with. She was grateful to have Tom beside her to give advice.

"If they're getting married in the woods, you don't want any of these heavy kimonos. I'd say go with one of these simple dresses instead--they're very pretty. Does Lusha need something too?"

"Yes, and she specified Chinese. I'll get to her later. What do you think of this dress, and these suits for the men?"

"Sure. Do you know the sizes?"

B'Elanna nodded and gave the computer instructions to prepare the clothing, and then made another request. "Computer, 20th century Earth clothing. Chinese."

* * *

The two couples spent their morning walking through the woods, or quietly talking. They kept their distance from each other, realizing that this day would be one of the last quiet ones they would be allowed. Intensive training for what was coming would resume when they returned home.

For Ranma and Akane, it was a day of great happiness, mixed with frustration. Their families had been trying to get them together for such a long time, to the point where it clouded their perception of what was important.

"Ranma, why can't our fathers see what is happening? All they can talk about is joining their houses. If we're not ready when the attack comes, there may not _be_ any houses left."

Ranma pulled Akane into his arms, and she rested her cheek against his chest. "Shh, Akane. I know. When we get home, we'll work on them together, even if we have to beat some sense into them. But I don't want to talk about that now. Today is our day."

* * *

The couples came together at midday, and prepared a simple lunch. Although they didn't mean to bring up the subject, Allucia and Ryoga couldn't help talking about what was ahead of them.

"Will three months be enough time?" wondered Allucia.

"It has to be--we have no choice," responded Ryoga. "They're coming, and we have to be ready."

Ranma and Akane didn't speak at all. They'd said everything that needed to be said to each other that morning. Ryoga looked at Ranma, and saw what he needed to know in his friend's eyes. Ranma meant to stop the invaders, and to protect the woman he loved. It was the same resolve that Ryoga had made.

They were interrupted by the hum of transporters, and a crate materialized in the clearing.

"What is that?" asked Akane. "Is that the wedding gift you were talking about, Lusha?""

Allucia grinned. "Come help me open this thing. B'Elanna put it together for me."

There were several boxes in the crate, labeled with their names. Akane started to open hers, but Allucia slammed her hand down on the lid.

"Don't _do_ that! Ranma can't see what's in there. At least not until you're wearing it."

"You mean. . .you don't mean?"

"Yes, Akane. It's a wedding dress."

Akane put the box down and hugged Allucia for all she was worth. Allucia came out of that encounter feeling like her ribs were broken.

"Okay, okay, Akane! You're welcome!" Allucia turned to Ranma. "What time do you expect the minister to get here?"

Ranma consulted his watch. "About two hours, I think."

Akane started to look a little panicked. "We have to start getting ready. We've got to heat water for washing, and we need to dress, and--"

She was interrupted when her fiancé pulled her into his arms for a fierce hug. "Take it easy, Akane. I'll go get the water. You build up the fire. There's plenty of time."

It didn't surprise Akane when Ranma came back female.

"I kinda splashed myself, Akane."

"Baka."

* * *

Ranma and Ryoga stood behind a blanket they'd strung between the trees behind Ryoga's tent. Ranma had hung a small mirror from a tree, and was rather unsuccessfully trying to get his tie tied.

"Is this thing straight?"

"Not quite, let me fix it. Ranma, would you stop fidgeting! I can't fix it if you don't stand still!"

"Sorry. I think I'm getting nervous."

They left their makeshift dressing room, and Ranma looked at his watch.

"Look, I've got something to do. Would you wait here for the minister? I'll be back soon."

"You sure you don't want me to come along?"

Ranma shook his head. "No, this is something I want to do on my own."

Ryoga nodded, and started to wander out of the clearing. Ranma had to grab him before he disappeared, and guide him back.

"Stand here, and don't move!"

Moments later, Ryoga found himself bound to a tree.

"You're not getting lost on me!"

Although he knew he could get free very easily, Ryoga just sighed, and stayed where he was as Ranma disappeared into the trees. He closed his eyes, and thought about how he could get even...later.

* * *

Ryoga's eyes flew open when he heard a giggle.

"I suppose that's a pretty good way to keep you in one place!"

Allucia's grin turned to a look of alarm, and she lunged at Ryoga and held onto his nose.

"Don't you _dare! _ You'll ruin the suit!"

Ryoga had taken one look at Allucia, his eyes had opened wide, his chin looked like it was going to drop to the forest floor, and he'd begun to babble incoherently. The sight of her in that sexy violet silk cheongsam was too much for him. With a great deal of effort, he controlled himself, and the pressure in his nose eased.

"That's better, Ryo-kun. Where's Ranma?"

"He said he had something to do."

"Good."

Before Ryoga could ask Allucia what she meant, she'd leaned in for a kiss. When she stopped to catch her breath, Ryoga smiled at her.

"Untie me. I want to hold you."

"Nope, I like being in control."

Allucia went back to what she was doing, until she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

"Miss, if you have to tie your fiancé to a tree in order to marry him, perhaps you should reconsider this wedding."

Allucia jumped away from Ryoga, and turned bright red.

"I-I-I'm not the bride!" She pointed behind her tent, where there was another blanket hung between two trees. "She's over there, getting dressed. Um, please excuse me. I'm supposed to be helping her." Allucia ran behind the blanket, and the two men soon heard the sounds of giggling.

The minister laughed as he untied Ryoga. "That's an unusual girlfriend you have there."

"Yes, and I intend to hang onto her."

* * *

"Is my hair all right?"

Allucia held the mirror so that Akane could see herself as she placed a circlet of silk flowers on her head.

"You look wonderful. Let me take a picture."

"You have a camera?"

Allucia produced a camera from one of the boxes. "Tom thought of that one."

They were still snapping each other's pictures when Ranma spoke from the other side of the blanket.

"Can I come in?"

Allucia came out from behind the blanket, carrying the camera.

"Not until I take your picture, Ranma! You look so cute holding those!"

"Lusha!"

"Well, you do!"

A curious Akane pushed the blanket aside to find out what Allucia meant by "cute", and discovered Ranma holding a huge bouquet of wildflowers and ferns. Ranma was so stunned by the sight of Akane in her white silk dress that he simply held out the flowers, unable to speak. Akane buried her nose in the flowers, breathing in the fragrance.

"Thank you, Ranma."

"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

Akane's eyes opened wide. Ranma very rarely called her anything other than "Akane", or sometimes an affectionate "tomboy", so the use of the word "sweetheart" was very, very special to her. She placed her hand in his, and squeezed it.

"I'm ready, love."

* * *

Ranma's hand shook slightly as he took Akane's ring from Ryoga, and placed it on her finger. Akane's hand was just as unsteady when she gave Ranma his ring. Ranma was so involved in staring into Akane's eyes, that the minister had to tell him twice that he could kiss her. Once he'd gotten the message, though, he didn't need any more encouragement. Neither did Akane.

* * *

"You're sure you won't stay? At least let us make you some tea before you leave."

The minister shook his head, and smiled at the newlyweds. "No thank you. It's a long walk home, and I want to take my time. I'm a birdwatcher, and I haven't had time to get out into the woods for a long time."

The minister hadn't been gone long before the hum of transporters was heard, and another crate materialized in the clearing. Everyone looked at Allucia, but she seemed to be as confused as they were. Ryoga soon had it open, and they were all delighted to find that a full dinner had been sent down, compliments of Neelix.

Allucia and Ryoga unpacked the food, and started to serve it.

"I can't believe we got away with it, Ryo-kun!"

"Got away with what?"

"Neelix made an entire meal without using leola root."

Ryoga looked disappointed. "Darn. I like the stuff."

Allucia winced.

* * *

Ranma sat close to the fire, Akane in his lap. They'd been totally absorbed in each other ever since dinner, and were evidently oblivious to the sounds of Allucia and Ryoga packing up their things.

"Do you think we should say goodbye to them, Lusha?"

"No, leave them alone."

The newlyweds failed to notice when Allucia and Ryoga quietly made their way into the darkness, leaving nothing in the clearing but each other, their tent, and the starlight.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

**A**llucia and Ryoga hiked through the woods for a few kilometers, then stopped to start building another camp. Allucia had originally planned to have her and Ryoga beam back up to _Voyager_ afterwards, but changed her mind as the whole 'camping' thing was starting to grow on her. Ryoga had no problem either way, but was definitely happier to stay on the planet.

After a small meal of instant noodles, the two young people hunkered down in front of the fire. Ryoga sat behind Allucia, and wrapped his arms around her, and then a blanket to envelop them both. The young pilot smiled and rested her head gently against one of Ryoga's arms.

They were quiet for a long while, until finally, Ryoga couldn't stand the silence any longer. "What are you thinking about, Lusha?" he asked.

He felt and heard her sigh deeply. "I dunno. Everything...and nothing."

The Saiyajin smirked. When they had first started seeing each other, she could have gotten away with that. But Ryoga and Allucia had become much closer in the last few weeks, and he quickly learned some of her common nuances. He knew that she was doing some really heavy thinking, because when she wasn't, she was talking a kilometer a minute. Her silence was telling him she didn't really want to talk about it...he knew he could coax it out of her. As much as they knew about each other, Ryoga felt there was still something she was keeping to herself, especially after the day he taught her the Shi Chi Hokodan. His gut was telling him it was something terrible but he had respected her privacy.

"C'mon Allucia...you know you can talk to me." he said quietly. "Aside from all the training we've been doing, you've been my whole world for the past few weeks." Thinking about their training brought another realization to Ryoga. The way Allucia threw herself so single-mindedly into her training...wanting to learn everything she could...only further cemented his belief she also wanted to be able to defend herself if they lived through this.

She sighed again. "Sometimes I wonder what I did right, what I did to deserve you," she admitted quietly. It was quiet for a moment, then she felt Ryoga's arms tighten around her.

"I ask myself that same question ever day, Allucia," he said quietly, leaning forward to rest his head on her shoulder. "Do you think you're such a terrible person that you do not deserve happiness?" He suddenly felt her tense up, and lifted his chin from her shoulder.

"I--" she started, and then faltered. She took a deep breath. "Let's just say the last few years of my life haven't exactly been happy."

The Saiyajin took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Because then you might not want me anymore!" Allucia shot back.

Ryoga was suddenly filled with dread, wondering what could have possibly happened to this beautiful woman in his arms to make her think she would be undesirable. Moving too quickly for Allucia to react, he picked her up and set her in his lap so that she was facing him. He wrapped one arm tightly around her and with his free hand gently caressed her cheek with his palm. She immediately tensed up, and Ryoga could suddenly see panic in her beautiful blue eyes.

But he wasn't backing down. "Listen to me," he whispered. "There is absolutely nothing you could tell me that would scare me off. I mean that." She quietly continued to stare at him, as though expecting him to fade into thin air. _Very well...I guess I'll have to use my secret weapon. "_It wouldn't have anything to do with your nightmares, would it?"

Allucia immediately tore her eyes from his, then, as though realizing her mistake, locked gazes with him again. "I don't have nightmares."

"Don't lie to me. You've had them every night we've spent together since that first night we ran into each other in the forest." Ryoga smirked. "That, and a fist to my skull tends to wake me up a little."

The color suddenly drained from Allucia's face, and her eyes began to fill with tears. "Ryoga, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you, I never shared a room with anyone other than my big br--" She found herself cut off as Ryoga placed one finger on her lips.

"Don't try to change the subject. I didn't tell you because I was hoping you'd tell me on your own." He sighed. "Ever since that first Shi Chi Hokodan you let off, I've known there's been something eating at your soul. There was too much power to that blast, more than just worry for a friend." Another sigh, as he tried to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "I love you, _all of you_, good or bad." He removed his finger from her lips. "Now...please...will you not let me in?"

Her jaw started to tremble, and a few tears escaped from her eyes to trail down her cheeks. The tremble made its way down to her shoulders, and before Ryoga knew it, Allucia's whole body was shaking. She was petrified. She knew she loved Ryoga when she blurted it out to him a few weeks previous, but at the same time there was that small part of her she kept locked away from everyone. It was where she shoved all her anger and fear and locked it away. But most of her heart was in there too. She was afraid if she let that out, and Ryoga broke it, she would have no soul left. Part of her wanted to share everything with this amazing person who suddenly appeared into her life. But there was that piece of her that was utterly convinced that once he _knew_ then she would be alone. But what did she have to lose at this point? They might all be dead in a few weeks anyway.

After a few moments, Allucia got enough control of herself to be able to speak. She tightly wrapped both of her hands around Ryoga's free hand, because she wasn't sure how far she was going to get, yet at the same time, holding on to him made her feel stronger. She took a deep breathe, and began.

"About a year ago, a few months after I arrived on _Voyager_, I went on my first away mission with Tom Paris. Not long into the flight we were overwhelmed by an enemy who called themselves the Klaamox. They took us hostage and destroyed our shuttle. They took us to their home planet and we were sold as slaves, though by some miracle we managed to stay together. After a week or so, I moved from the farms on the property that me and Tom belonged to, to the plantation's house, for a slim chance to be able to gain access to tools. If I was able to get the tools, we'd be able to repair my broken combadge to contact_ Voyager _to come and rescue us." Allucia stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts, and looked down, suddenly enthralled out how she had entwined her arms and Ryoga's hand.

"Please go on..." he urged.

She nodded, bringing her eyes back to his. "I managed to get the tools and my badge out to Tom..." Here, Ryoga watched as her gaze seemed to unfocus. "I got the tools out to Tom..." she repeated, "...after I was beaten as punishment because another slave girl had stolen something from the mistress' quarters. She felt indebted to me since I took her punishment, so she stole the tools for me and got them to Tom."

"Oh Lusha, I had no--" Ryoga began, but was cut off by Allucia talking over him. She didn't want to turn back now.

"Then after the tools were discovered missing, I was beaten again." Ryoga's heart fell into his stomach, and he felt his whole body tense. "I refused to stop performing my duties, though, I wasn't going to let them get to me." He could see her barely-held together facade start to crack. She clutched her and Ryoga's entwined arms to her chest. "But when I accidentally dropped a plate too heavy for me to carry because of my injuries, they locked me up. But they had set me up, too. I could barely push a mop as it was, they had beaten me so bad, but then they pile a ton of food onto a ceramic tray and told me to bring it somewhere, I didn't get more than a few steps before it dropped..."

Allucia suddenly let out a body-wracking sob, and inhaled loudly. "They tied me down. Cut and burned me. Whipped me. Only gave me water when I passed out. And that was only the first night..." By now, she was crying so hard, the hands she had clutched to her chest were soaked. Ryoga had tears trailing down his face as well.

He went to speak, but Allucia still wasn't done. "The next night they--they--" Another sob. "They pierced me. They took the last thing about me that was innocent...!" She let out a few more sobs. "I was locked up in their dungeon for over a week, but I don't remember anything past the second night." She raised her gaze to meet Ryoga's. "Do you understand now? I'm not a virgin, not pure--" she untangled her hands from Ryoga's arm and tried to move away from him, but suddenly found herself crushed to Ryoga's chest.

She was about to panic from not being able to free herself, until she abruptly realized Ryoga was sobbing into her hair. "Kami-sama, Allucia, I had no idea, I never could have imagined..."

"You're the only other person besides my Doctor and Tom who know the full story now, and Tom only knows because he helped the EMH treat my injuries," Allucia whispered. She hope Ryoga realized how much trust she just put in him. She suddenly felt very weak and shaky; now was the moment of truth. He would either think she was disgusting and want nothing else to do with her, or he would still love her. But Allucia was feeling so emotionally and mentally drained she didn't dare hope for one or the other, and her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest.

Ryoga suddenly became very still, and his tears subsided to a few sniffles. He straightened up, then took one of his bandannas off his head and started to gently wipe Allucia's tear stained face. She didn't take her eyes off him the whole time, nor did her tears stop.

"You're too beautiful to cry," he said, then gently kissed each of her cheekbones. Allucia blinked at him slowly, but still remained tense. "I love you Allucia, and despite your terrible ordeal, I still want you. What happened to you was against your will...as far as I am concerned, you are still a virgin. And even if you were not by your own choice...it would not make a difference to me. If anything, I love you even more...for being strong enough to live through it, and trusting me enough to share it with me." He smiled fangily at her. "That took a lot of courage, and I love strength in a woman."" His smile turned into a broad grin. "Besides, what does that matter when I want to spend the rest of my life with you?"

Had Allucia not been supported by Ryoga's arms, she would have swooned. Even sitting, she became so dizzy with relief all she could do was wrap her arms around Ryoga and smile at him.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? She couldn't even fathom what that would be like. But in that instant she knew she would leave _Voyager_ to be with him forever. After all, it's not like she had any family waiting for her back in the Alpha Quadrant. Distant descendants, perhaps. Her only sibling was her older brother, and at the time she disappeared he was married to his military career.

But for now, she was content just to stay in Ryoga's embrace and not move for a while. Allucia couldn't remember a time, ever, when she ever felt so content.

The couple sat in silence for a little while, there was nothing to be said. But there was one more thing nagging at her conscience, one more thing Allucia knew she had to share with Ryoga. After what she just told him, it would would be a breeze. She smiled to herself. She wasn't worried. Even if Allucia hadn't told him about her terrible ordeal, she knew he would readily accept this as he did her curse.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you."

Ryoga quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh?" His curiosity flared, not being able to imagine what could come next given she had just shared with him.

Allucia nodded and smiled at the Saiyajin as she closed her eyes.

After a moment, a confused Ryoga was about to ask what it was, since Allucia didn't appear to be doing anything other than smiling. But then he noticed a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head towards it, he saw his oversized back pack slowly rising off the ground.

It stopped after about half a meter, then floated towards him and Allucia as though it were on an invisible clothes line. It stopped above them, rotated once horizontally, then slowly came to rest on the other side of them.

Ryoga slowly moved his gave from his pack to Allucia as she opened her eyes. The slight sheen of sweat on her brow did not go unnoticed by him. "That...that was you?"

She nodded, not losing her smile.

"That...that's incredible!" His face broke into a wide grin, then his expression turned to one of confusion as the pieces fell into place. Little things about the past few weeks...her slow progress...her avoidance of certain topics of conversation... "How come you didn't tell me sooner about this power of yours?" Ryoga asked, though he had a general idea of why.

Allucia had been expecting this question. She turned sheepish. "Well...until I met you and Ranma and everyone..I thought it was unnatural..."

"Unnatural?! Why would you think that?!"

"Because a few hundred years ago on my home planet they were trying to get rid of anyone who wasn't normal?"

Ryoga was flabbergasted. Before he could ask her to explain further, she beat him to it.

"They called people with powers like mine 'mutants'. And it's true to a point, because there were thousands, maybe even millions of mutants probably with as many different powers. I can move stuff just by thinking about it, but I had heard about others who could control the weather or fire or walk through walls or tons of other things." Allucia sighed sadly. "A lot of scientists thought mutants were more highly evolved humans, but most people back then used to fear anything that was different. It didn't take me long to learn to hide my power if I wanted to survive. I guess I've been trying to hide it too much, because I really don't know how strong it really is." She tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. "The first time I ever used it, it was an accident and I couldn't control it."

The Saiyajin looked pensive himself. "From what I know of Yamato's history," he began, "there have always been 'mutants'. But they were almost never shunned. We have no word for 'mutant' at least not one so negative." Ryoga smirked. "Though I think turning into a pig is a curse, there have been times where it has been a blessing. And many of Yamato's people usually view their abilities as a blessing from the Kami, which is why so many people use their gifts for good."

Allucia grinned and snuggled a little closer to Ryoga. "Like the Yamato Special Forces?" she asked as she planted a kiss on his chin.

Ryoga sighed blissfully and gazed into Allucia's eyes. "Hai..." he murmured. Their gazes locked and the rest of the world seemed to fade away.

He traced one side of Allucia's face with a finger, along her jawline and ending at her chin. She marveled at how such rough and calloused hands could also feel so gentle and soft. As he trailed down the side of her face, a tingle began behind her ear on that side to travel down her back and she unconsciously squirmed in a not unpleasant way.

Taking notice of this, Ryoga grinned impishly and repeated the action on the other side of her face but a shade slower. This combined with a fangy smile served to get an even more pronounced squirm out of the pilot.

Situated as she was in the Saiyajin's lap, her movement was not without affect on Ryoga. He first noticed the pressure in his nose. But this was not the time for that! Concentrating on the beautiful young woman in his lap he was able to avoid a nosebleed though acutely aware that the pressure had moved to a different area of his body.

Allucia had also noticed the effect she was having on Ryoga, and for a moment her first instinct was to panic. The last time she'd had anything resembling a significant other, he'd slipped drugs into her drink sat the junior prom. She didn't remember most of the night after they'd left the school, except for her trying to resist the jerk once she realized she'd been drugged. That, and blue light all around. _Must have been a street sign..._

All this flashed through Allucia's head in a fraction of a second, but if Ryoga noticed it he gave no sign. In that moment, Allucia had an epiphany. Ryoga wasn't looking at her with eyes full of animal lust.

He was gazing at her with love.

It was true enough that there were plenty of hormones involved. During the past few weeks the two teenagers had spent a fair share of time making out and touching each other, but never taking it any further without one of them wanting to stop. Allucia's reason was fear; Ryoga merely wanted to avoid a bloody nose. But even that he was improving with and he wasn't stopping as early anymore nearly as much he was in the beginning.

But Allucia had no doubt in either her heart or mind that if she wanted to stop, he would. The realization was so abrupt she suddenly felt warmer. But not from desire. It was though the last vestiges of ice around her heart melted and she was truly warm for the first time she could remember in a very, very long time.

Everything was clear to her. Ryoga was her soulmate. She would be with him forever, regardless of whether forever was a few weeks or many decades away. She didn't care. Allucia brought up her hands to cup Ryoga's face. "I love you," she whispered.

They'd shared those three little words plenty of times in the past weeks, but something in the way she said it this time caught Ryoga's attention. Allucia sounded so vulnerable, yet so strong. It almost made him feel like he loved her more for it, yet at the same time it felt as though if he tried to hold any more love in his heart for this woman it might burst out of his chest.

"And I you," Ryoga replied, though the words felt so inadequate. But he knew she understood when she pulled his face down to meet hers. The angle was a little awkward for the Saiyajin's neck, so in one fluid motion he uncrossed his legs and laid down on his side, pulling Allucia with him so she also laid on her side on the ground facing him.

Now untangled from their cumbersome earlier positions, the two simultaneously wrapped their arms around each other's bodies, locking lips and entwining their legs.

After a few minutes of exchanging many kisses, Allucia found herself underneath Ryoga, divesting him of his tunic. She suddenly felt rude for not asking first, but the look on her love's face as she caressed his muscular chest with the palms of her hands told her he didn't mind in the least. She noticed a scar here and there and couldn't help but trace them with her fingers.

She felt Ryoga playing with the hem of her shirt, as though he was asking for permission, and in response she merely removed it herself, forgetting she hadn't put a bra back on after changing out of her formal dress earlier. But then, Ryoga didn't seem to be complaining.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, running his hands along the sides of her torso. Allucia knew that she had her fair share of scars. There was only so much medical technology could do for injuries that had already healed very badly before treatment. But knowing Ryoga, the scars probably only made her more beautiful in his eyes.

Having new territory to explore, Allucia and Ryoga lost themselves to more kisses and caresses. She loved how his hands felt on her back, her waist, everywhere. A few times she felt him bravely caress her backside, which only served to excite her more.

Suddenly Allucia felt a little chilly and realized that Ryoga had propped himself up on his arms and was gazing down at her. She could see the light given off by the campfire play across his face, how his dark hair framed it though she idly wondered where his bandanna had gone.

As Ryoga gazed down at the beautiful woman beneath him, he was trying to form a coherent sentence in his mind that wouldn't sound perverted. He wanted her so badly, but he was finding himself at a loss for words.

Allucia drank in the sight of the man hovering above her. His jaw was moving, but he wasn't talking. She thought maybe he was at a loss for words.

Finally, he spoke. "Allucia...I love you so...so much. Will...will you let me show you?"

His voice was so husky, yet so filled with love Allucia was left speechless. She knew exactly what he was asking and she wasn't afraid. She could only smile up at him and nod. It didn't matter to her that they weren't married yet. As far as the young woman was concerned, it was a technicality at this point, because no one would ever replace Ryoga in her mind or heart.

* * *

"You're _**what**__?!" _Oni-Soun bawled.

Akane took a deep breath, her hand tightening around Ranma's. "We're _married_, Dad. Ranma and I eloped yesterday morning. Are you happy now?"

Soun's head shrank, and he began sobbing. "My little girl... I can't believe it... my little girl... married... I'm so happy..." He glomped onto his daughter and new son-in-law, sobbing even more.

Genma seemed to pop up out of no where, tears water falling down his face as well. "My son... married..." He began sobbing. "He is a true man now... our houses... joined..."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other, thinking they would be used to this behavior by now.

_ "Well, it went pretty much how we thought it would, don't you think, Akane?" Ranma said nervously, a rather large bead of sweat hanging down the back of his head. Akane only blinked slowly at the two fathers, her left eye twitching slightly. _


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

**B**efore the Special Forces knew it, the three months had passed. The Saiyajins were expected to arrive any day now. The training continued nonetheless; they were going to need all the help they could get. Ryoga had actually been able to help almost everyone increase their strength to the point where they could fly.

While everyone easily kept up with Ryoga's tutelage, Allucia found herself continually lagging behind, no matter how hard she tried. Being the only one that couldn't fly was what frustrated her the most. Second to that, her ki attacks weren't as strong either. Ryoga, for his part, supported Allucia as much as he could; he knew this would be difficult for her.

He had actually tried talking her into using her telekinesis to aid in the fight, but she was adamantly against it. She was convinced she couldn't control it if she tried to use it for too much and she didn't want to accidentally injure someone on their team. Ryoga felt otherwise; if she could learn how to control it it would not only be a formidable weapon, but also a solid defense, and who knew much power she actually had that was being held back by her own self-inflicted restrictions. He had expected that her falling behind would happen because of this; it was another reason why he didn't want her on the team. But the lost boy had to admit, there was something romantic about fighting side by side with the woman he loved.

* * *

Then, one day, it happened.

_**"Burning Mandala!"**_

_**"Venus Love Me Chain!"**_

_** "Earth Shaking!"**_

_** "Deep Submerge!" **_

_** "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" **_

_** "Shine Aqua Illusion!"**_

_** "Spiral Moon Heart Attack!"**_

The Sailor Scouts, first at the scene of the crashed space pods in the metropolitan area that was south-west of Nerima, were launching every one of their attacks onto the beings who had emerged from them. There were two of them. One was rather short, with bright blue hair that stood straight up. The other was a slightly taller, with long black hair, tied back into a ponytail. The shorter one turned to his companion, then turned to the Scouts, a morbid smile on his face.

* * *

Ryoga rushed to the scene as soon as he saw the twin lines of orange light streak across the sky. He knew the sight all too well. A half-hour later, he made it there, a flight that should have taken less than five minutes.

All the Scouts were laying unconscious; but they were still alive at least, Ryoga could tell by their auras. He turned to the Saiyajins. "You're not here to fight a bunch of girls in sailor fukus! I'm the one you're here for, so follow me!" Ryoga narrowed his eyes at them and quickly leaped into the air, and flew in what he hoped was the direction of the island. At least his sense of direction would buy the Special Forces time to make it to the island. That is, assuming they followed him...

The two Saiyajins looked at each other, checked their scouters, blinked, then took off in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Yes, I know they're here Akane. I'll be down there as soon as I can," Allucia said to the face on the screen.

_ "What, is there a problem?"_ Akane asked.

"Yeah. Janeway locked me up as soon as they appeared on our short-range sensors. She somehow got wind that I was planning to help you all, I have no idea how. I'm under pretty tight security here. I wish I knew who blabbed..."

_"What are you going to do?"_

"I don't--" Allucia's face went slack for a moment, then brightened as an idea came to her. "I don't have time to explain. Just have hot water and my spare gi ready. You'll know when I arrive. Banks out."

Akane stared at the blank screen, then bolted away from the console in search of her husband.

* * *

Allucia could sense the presence of the security guard outside; not just his emotions, but thanks to Ryoga's training, she could sense his life energy. She considered what she could do to distract him. After running through her options, she made her decision.

Lieutenant Andrews straightened, hearing a loud thump from within the ensign's quarters. Not knowing what was wrong, he keyed in a security code, and entered the room. He saw Allucia laying prone on the floor, on her back. He knelt beside her to take her pulse.

Allucia kept perfectly still as she heard Andrews enter the room. As he knelt down beside her, the martial artist's eyes snapped open. Before the security guard had a chance to react, her hand clamped down on the base of his neck.

Much to Allucia's surprise, the lieutenant's eyes rolled up into his head and he lost consciousness. Much to her chagrin, he collapsed onto her and he was a much larger person than she. She quickly pushed him off, and bolted from the room, tapping her combadge as she ran. Learning the Vulcan nerve pinch had been part of her T'Lok training, but she didn't expect she'd be successful on the first try, or to be successful at all.

"Banks to Banderas!" she called. "Josè, meet me in the shuttlebay immediately! Banks out!"

By the time she had reached the shuttlebay, her friend was there waiting. "You're insane!" he said, staring at the glass of cold water in his hand. "You sure you wanna to do this?"

"Quite sure, thank you. There are people I care about down there." _Not to mention the man I love..._ "You gonna do the honors or shall I?"

Josè didn't reply, but instead threw the water in Allucia's face. Literally.

Musha-ohki sighed and allowed Josè to pick her up. After a moment's hesitation, he threw her as hard as he could towards the open shuttlebay doors.

* * *

Five minutes later, a large spaceship was looming over the Tendo residence, of the cabbit kind.

Kasumi looked up at the spaceship. "Oh, my...is that really Allucia?"

Akane nodded. "It must be. She told me to have hot water ready," she said, indicating the steaming kettle in her hand.

Suddenly, the ship began to rotate, turning in on itself in the process, until it transformed into a small black ball of falling fur.

"Musha-ohki!" Akane cried, moving to catch her.

Ranma, however, was quicker. "I got her!" he yelled, vaulting into the air. He caught her easily enough, but didn't pay attention to where he was landing.

Ranma waded out of the water, holding Musha-ohki, dry as a cabbit could be, as she had held her above the water as she landed, unconscious.

A human Allucia regained consciousness a few minutes later and quickly changed into her gi. Since she couldn't fly, Ranma volunteered to carry Allucia. Soon after, the Special Forces lifted off into the air.

* * *

The two opposing sides faced each other, in a seemingly staring stalemate. The Special Forces stood to one side, wearing black gis with yellow sashes, and the kanji for "Gohan" on the back of them, in honor of the man who had raised Ryoga. The Saiyajins stood to the other, their blue and silver armor gleaming in the harsh sunlight.

Allucia was getting nervous, along with everyone else. Ryoga was no where to be seen. "I can't believe it," Ranma grumbled."The world could end today, and Pig-boy got lost! _Damn!" _Akane glared at him.

The short Saiyajin harrumphed. "Is this all they could come up with, Yodoku? A bunch of babies?" He sneered.

"Uh, I dunno, Hakai. Not really. Huh huh..." the big brute stuttered out.

Hakai shook his head, wondering why the kami had cursed him with such an absolute kretin.

Yodoku grinned and stepped forward. "Time to play, kiddies!"

"No!" Akane yelled. "Not all of our team has arrived yet!"

"I can't believe it," Hakai said. "This planet must be desperate, if they're sending _women_ to fight."

"You should no underestimate womans from Amazon tribe!" Shampoo interjected.

Ranma cracked his knuckles. "Akane, let me take care of these two dummies."

"Ranma...are you sure? You don't want to wait for Ryoga?" Akane put her hand on his arm. Ranma nodded.

Yodoku stepped forward. "Time to play!" he repeated.

Ranma was in his face in a flash. "Katsu Tenchin Amigurken!" he cried, letting loose hundreds of punches. He got a few seconds worth of punching in, but then flew back, skidding into the ground between Shampoo and Akane.

"Ranmaaaaa!" Akane cried. She was about to rush to his side, but Ranma waved her away.

The pigtailed boy stood up, his jaw set, face twitching slightly. "Fast, ain't we..." Ranma flew at the ugly Saiyajin again. _"Moko Takabashi!" _ He threw the ki blast, aiming for his foe's head. He missed, as a fist was planted in his gut. Ranma flew up and back to smash into a nearby plateau face. He not only left an impact crater, but an outline in the shape of his body.

"I'm bored of this already," Hakai commented. "Yodoku, finish the fool. I'm bored already."

Yodoku nodded, and turned to Ranma, who was picking himself up and preparing to attack again. The former threw a massive ki blast at Ranma; he barely managed to get out of the way, to prepare his counter-attack, one the new ones that Ryoga had taught him.

_**"Ka..me...ha...me...haaaaaaa!" **_ He brought his hands together in front of him, palms open. The large blast of energy engulfed the Saiyajin, sending up a huge dust cloud.

It grew quiet for a moment; then chuckling could be heard. "Is that all you got?" Yodoku asked. He wasn't even bruised; just a bit dusty. The Special Forces collectively facefaulted.

Ranma was growling. "I...I can't _believe_ it! This guy's a _monster!" _ He clenched a fist, popping his knuckles. "Alright. I still got a few tricks up my sleeve." A blue aura began to glow around him; then, in the next instant, phased out of sight. Seconds later, Yodoku, a surprised look on his face, phased as well. The second after that, Ranma flew up into the air limply.

Not waiting for a counter-attack, he opened his mouth wide, and roared; blue-white energy flew out in a straight beam at Ranma's falling body; he was caught on the outer edge of it.

Ranma hit the ground, unmoving; then disappeared into thin air. Everyone gasped, but it was drowned out by a shriek from Akane._**"Ranmaaaaa!"**_Her blue-white battle aura immediately ignited. _**"Where is he?!"**_

One side of Hakai's mouse upturned in a cruel smile. "He's dead."

Everyone froze, and turned to Akane. The expression on her face was unreadable. She stood there, completely frozen.

Shampoo jumped into action. "You killed Ranma?! You die _now!"_ She was slowly surrounded by a blue glow.

* * *

_"What?!" _Kathryn nearly hissed, disbelieving.

Harry visibly cringed, wilting under the Janeway Death Glare™. "Ensign Banks...well, she managed to leave the ship in cabbit-spaceship form. And the battle has already started...there's so much energy flying around, I can't get a transporter lock on her. I can't even get a lock on her lifesigns...the sensors can't even tell what type of energy it is!"

Kathryn started pacing around the Bridge. She had forbidden Allucia not to fight for two reasons. First and foremost was most certainly the Prime Directive. The second was because she had become too close to the situation. She had become such good friends with the other fighters...and they were all teenagers, no less. And she couldn't _not_ let Allucia train with them...it wasn't up to her to forbid the ensign from hanging out with people her own age...

After about five minutes of running over options in her head, she sat in her chair. "Harry, keep tabs on the situation down there, and do your _damnedest_ to get Ensign Banks back here. Got that?""

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

The minutes slowly ticked by. The atmosphere on the bridge was very tense. It was so quiet that the slightest movement could be heard.

So it was quite a shock when Harry's call rang throughout the bridge. "Captain! The energy levels just dramatically decreased...I may be able to punch through and beam her up any time now."

Kathryn merely nodded tautly in reply.

* * *

Allucia heaved her head off the ground. She winced in pain; the elbow was dislocated. She really should have expected it. There was dust clearing everywhere...she had been on the receiving end of a blast from Hakai and slammed into a wall of rock. Since Allucia was the only one left, she tried to reach inward to use her telekinesis, but found she was unable to access it. After a moment the human realized she must have a concussion from being slammed into the side of the rock plateau.

Things weren't going well, to say the least. Ryoga still was yet to arrive. _Everyone else...I can't believe it...gone..._ Allucia was struggling to keep her emotions and feelings for her friends in check, she couldn't let it interfere with her fighting. After Shampoo had been dispatched by Yodoku, Mousse had naturally leapt to her defense, but he went out the quickest out of everyone, being the prime example of letting his emotions interfere with his fighting. That, and his glasses had been knocked away.

After that had happened, Allucia and Akane looked at each other. The emotion she had seen in Akane's eyes...sadness and acceptance; but no fear—it would be forever etched into her memory. Then, before the young ensign had a chance to speak, Akane was flying at Yodoku.

Allucia had never seen someone so focused...it was as if she was fighting purely without thought, and with all instinct and reflex as though she was a physical manifestation of her Art. It was something Allucia was unfamiliar with. And in the end, after being able to wear him down, Akane launched a kamikaze attack on the brute. She managed to get behind him; then latched herself on. Her battle aura flared to engulf the both of them; immediately after that a flash of light and a huge explosion engulfed the air above Hakai and Allucia, who still stood on opposite sides from each other. It was the full version of the Shi Chi Hokodan.

And then the both of them were gone.

Allucia had dropped to her knees in shock, propping herself up with her hands to completely keep from passing out. She had felt each one of them die. Now she was the only one left...and Ryoga was still lost. _How could this have happened?! If Ryoga doesn't get here soon..._

The lone Saiyajin had a malicious grin on his face. "Well well, looks like it's my turn now."

* * *

"Harry, _status report!" _Kathryn barked. She was not a happy captain.

The Operations officer was pale as he went over his readouts for the umpteenth time. "The power levels went down again...but this time after a huge explosion of power..." He shook his head. "They're dropping like flies, if I'm interpreting these correctly, since I still can't get a fix on lifesigns—"

"So Lusha could be dead already, and we can't do a damn thing about it," the captain stated grimly. She stared at the viewscreen, showing a peaceful view of Yamato, blue oceans and white clouds; not giving any hint of the battle going on for the planet below. It did nothing to calm Kathryn's nerves.

* * *

"What's the matter," Hakai hissed, "little girl too big for her britches?"

"Go to hell," Allucia muttered as she shakily stood. _Ryoga, where are you? Goddamn it, if I ever--_ For the past few minutes, she had barely been able to deflect or avoid anything the evil Saiyajin threw at her. None of her own attacks even got near him. But she would still try. If she died fighting the brute, so be it. She knew he was toying with her, slowly wearing her down.

Her thoughts was interrupted as a orange blast suddenly hit her opponent from the side, from where he was hanging in the air. Allucia's heart leapt at she craned her head towards the source.

It was Ryoga, having launched a Kamehameha at Hakai to distract him from Allucia. "_Leave her alone, you __**bastard**__!"_he screamed. An instant later, he was picking Allucia up and dodging another one of Hakai's blasts.

Allucia didn't need to use her empathic abilities to know that Ryoga was worried. Beyond words. However, seeing his worry combined with feeling it even more was very unsettling. "Everyone else is dead..." she said numbly, more to herself than to the man who was holding her. She couldn't bring herself to ask why the hell he'd gotten lost while his friends were getting killed. His face was grit in determination. If he had heard Allucia's comment he didn't show it. Allucia let out a shaky sigh, clutching to Ryoga's shirt with her one good arm.

Ryoga phased and flew between rock formations, trying to get Hakai off his trail for the time being. It wasn't a retreat; it was the Saotome Secret Technique.

He had to get Allucia to safety, she was in no shape to fight--though he knew she certainly would argue to the contrary. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped moving. Ryoga set Allucia down on a ledge behind a plateau face, and crouched next to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, though he already knew her answer.

Allucia leaned against a rock, her eyes tightly closed. "Yeah...I'm fine...elbow's dislocated though..." She shifted her position slightly, and let out a hiss when she jarred her arm.

Ryoga looked at Allucia for a moment, thinking desperately. "Allucia, listen to me. I'm gonna set you down on the desert floor. And I want you to start running. As fast as you can. I'm going to take this guy out on my own. Do you understand me, Lusha?"

"Ryoga--"

"Do you _understand?"_

Allucia stared at the man hovering above her. "I won't leave you."

He gazed back at the woman he loved for a long moment. "This isn't your fight."

"It's your fight. Which means it's also my fight. Ryoga, let me help... I know I'm the weakest... but let me try."

He was silent a moment. "You... you really mean that, don't you."

Allucia nodded, slowly, then winced as white-hot pain shot up her right arm. "I do. I meant it that night in the alley, too..."

Ryoga reached out and stroked Allucia's hair, his hands trembling. He couldn't bear to see her hurt like this. He knew she couldn't go on. Any further action would kill her. Ryoga looked into her eyes, and spoke softly, cupping her face with both his hands. "Allucia... if you fight on, you'll die. I don't want anything to happen to you. I am here to protect you... I will always protect you... you remember that." Allucia opened her mouth to speak, but Ryoga silenced her, putting a finger to her lips. "I can't stand seeing that lowly excuse for a Saiyajin hurt you like this...I promise I'll make it up to you when I come back." He placed his hand over his heart. "I promise. I love you."

Allucia looked up to Ryoga, who was gazing at her with nothing but love and adoration. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to retain her hold on consciousness, then reopened slightly as his form began to blur in and out of focus. She reached her left arm out towards him, placing her palm on his cheek. "Ryoga...I..." Allucia couldn't finish her sentence as she lost consciousness, her arm going limp.

At the same time, maniacal laughter could be heard as Hakai appeared behind Ryoga. "Awww...look at them. Aren't they cute."

Ryoga gazed at Allucia's limp form for a moment longer, then stood, a bluish-green glow surrounding him. He swirled around, his visage going from peaceful to menacing in a heartbeat. ___"__Kusoyaro!_ You have hurt the only thing precious to me...and now...**_now you will pay_****_!_**_"_ Ryoga screamed, fangs bared. He charged.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**A**llucia opened her eyes. She recognized Sickbay's ceiling. Letting out a strangled gasp, she bolted upright_. Ryoga--_ She turned to the biobeds to her side. They were unoccupied. Her view shifted to the surgical bed. Also empty. _Maybe they're in hospitals in Nerima--_

The Doc noticed Allucia sit up, and watching her look around the room in a panic, left his office. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the ensign.

"Where's Ryoga?! You beamed him up too, didn't you? _Didn't you?!_ Or is he still down on Yamato?! You gotta let me--" Tears began to stream down her face as realization slowly began to dawn on her. She put a hand to her head. "I--all of them—but maybe... oh God..." She sent a pleading look to the hologram. "Doctor..."

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment. "Ens--Allucia... I'm very sorry... but we only had time to beam you out... no sooner had we done so, we registered a large explosion on the surface. Then we left the system. I'm very sorry."

Allucia began shaking her head. "No-no-no-no-no... we hafta go back... and get Ryo-kun... _turn around!"_ She lifted her other hand to her face; and noticed something clenched in her hand.

A yellow piece of fabric, with a black geometric design... Allucia stared at the bandanna, and grew silent. "You should have left me down there... I was supposed to die with him..."

The Doctor took the moment to tap his combadge. "Commander Chakotay, please report to Sickbay immediately."

* * *

Not a minute later, Chakotay rushed into Sickbay. Sobbing could be heard. The commander followed the sound to its source, carefully stepping around a up-ended cart that was dented in such a way it looked at though it were almost folded in half. Allucia was behind the diagnostic bed on the floor. Several of the glass panels behind her had several spiderwebs of cracks in them; one had even shattered to the point where it had completely fallen from the walling, revealing the light source behind it. The holographic doctor was standing behind the console for the diagnostic bed; at least if he couldn't get close to Allucia he could still monitor her. He gave his commanding officer a despaired, worried look.

As Chakotay made his way around the bed and the ensign came into view, he could see her arms were wrapped around her legs, tightly pulled to her chest; she was rocking back and forth, shaking her head. The young woman was mumbling to herself; the commander couldn't make out what she was saying. He could see a strip of yellow patterned fabric in clenched in one hand; the knuckles around it probably would have been white if they weren't covered in blood.

His heart sank. She'd made so much progress in the last year and seemed so happy, it physically pained him to see her like this. Chakotay slowly walked up to Allucia and knelt on one knee next to the sobbing girl. He put a hand on her shoulder, but could not think of anything to say. She made no move to acknowledge him.

"Allucia," he began finally, "everything will be okay. Things _will_ get better, and you'll move on. You'll see; you've done it before."

The ensign's head snapped up. She looked at Chakotay, becoming silent. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face marred by trails of tears and streaks of her own blood. She brought her hands to her face again.

The bandanna fell softly to the floor.

* * *

Some days later, Allucia sat curled up on one of the window seats in the mess hall. A melting, untouched bowl of Jimbalian fudge ice cream sat on a nearby table. It was dark in the room, being after-hours. The stars streaked by at warp speed. She stared out the window, unseeing. _Ryoga... I'm sorry I left you there... Oh God, I miss you so much._ A tear seeped out of the corner of her eye. The ensign abashedly wiped it away on the sleeve of her uniform. She fingered the end of her braid; she'd made a ribbon from some of the bandanna's material. She vowed not to cut her hair again, no matter what, in honor of him.

Neelix watched the raven-haired youth from his kitchen, just finishing his cleaning for the day. He glanced in worry at the untouched ice cream. She was never one to refuse food, especially anything containing chocolate. He felt so sorry for her; it was obvious that she had fallen for that nice boy from Yamato. And then she lost him...he knew how she must feel, remembering when Kes had departed.

The Talaxian left the kitchen, and walked over to the young pilot. She tore her trance-like gaze from the window as she heard the cook approach. "Hi Neelix," she said quietly, nearly in a whisper.

"Good evening, Lusha." Neelix said as he took a seat. "How are you?"

Allucia harrumphed. "That's a good question." She sighed, a frown crossing her face. "This has been happening to me all my life. Just as things begin to make a turn for the better, something happens, and it all comes crashing down on me." She sighed again. "Will it ever end?"

Neelix slowly nodded after a moment. "It does... Before I came to _Voyager, _I had to search for even water to drink, in an area fraught by warring factions. Not only that, but I made my living bartering trash and salvage." He paused for a moment, deciding to omit his sales in narcotics. "Don't worry. Eventually the good things will outnumber the bad."

Allucia shrugged, then picked up the buried in the bowl of ice cream, idly watching the melted blue goo ooze off the spoon.

"Would you like me to get you another ice cream?" Neelix asked.

Allucia shook her head and pushed the bowl away. "No thanks. I think I'll try and get some rest. 'Night, Neelix." She got up and left.

Neelix watched her go, and couldn't help thinking (like so many others) how much she had been through in such a short time, given her age.

Instead of going to her quarters, Allucia headed directly for the holodeck.

**©1999 Spaz Productions**

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**Want to read the sequel? Head over to my profile and read True Q. It's another crossover story with a friend of mine, and you can read about his character's adventures too...just check out the webpage in my profile. :)**


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